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The use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in volunteer blood and marrow registry donors

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 38, pages 699–700 (2006)Cite this article

Long-term follow-up studies on healthy volunteer peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donors who receive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are not yet available. Nagler et al.1 recently published a report which concluded that the use of G-CSF in healthy stem cell donors led to ‘cancer-characteristic DNA modifications’. In this study, they tested 41 peripheral blood samples obtained from 18 healthy stem cell donors (13 males and five females, age range 11–50 years) given G-CSF to mobilize stem cells. Eighteen samples were obtained during mobilization and collection and 23 were taken at time intervals ranging from 8 to 268 days following mobilization. The authors performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies and reported a loss of synchrony in allelic replication timing and the occurrence of aneuploidy. Loss of allelic replication synchrony was found in the lymphocytes from G-CSF-mobilized donors, but was a transient epigenetic modification. The occurrence of aneuploidy remained unchanged and was thought to have occurred via changes in DNA methylation capacity.1 These findings might have implications for the continued administration of G-CSF to PBSC donors.

By contrast, Hernandez et al.2 studied gene expression profiles using microarray technology in peripheral blood samples from nine healthy donors who received G-CSF. Samples were collected before G-CSF administration and in three donors at 2 and 6 months post-mobilization. Three hundred and seventy-four genes showed a transient increase in expression and 387 a decrease in expression, but not when the pre-G-CSF samples were compared with those taken 2 or 6 months later. The expression of a number of genes, for example, CD11b, intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-2 and those involved in the immune response showed expected changes in expression. They concluded that their results accorded with clinical studies showing no significant side effects in healthy donors mobilized with G-CSF. They stated that G-CSF appears to be safe for healthy volunteer donors of haemopoietic stem cells.2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Bone Marrow Registry, National Blood Service, Bristol, UK

    D Pamphilon & A Green

  2. Anthony Nolan Trust, London, UK

    S Mackinnon

  3. Academic Haematology, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK

    E Nacheva

  4. Joint UK Bone Marrow Donors’ Medical Advisory Committee, Nottingham, UK

    N Russell

  5. Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Cardiff, UK

    K Wilson

  6. Transfusion Medicine Research and Development Program, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    M Clay

  7. National Marrow Donor Program, MN, USA

    J Miller

  8. British Bone Marrow Registry, London, UK

    C Navarrete

  9. Diagnostics Development and Research Directorate, National Blood Service, London, UK

    M Contreras

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  1. D Pamphilon
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  2. S Mackinnon
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  3. E Nacheva
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Pamphilon, D., Mackinnon, S., Nacheva, E. et al. The use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in volunteer blood and marrow registry donors. Bone Marrow Transplant 38, 699–700 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705508

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