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Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) is a hematopoietic cytokine secreted by a variety of cells including macrophages, T cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts. It promotes inflammation and host defense by stimulating differentiation of granulocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells from hematopoietic progenitor cells and increasing mature effector cell function. Recently, it has also been shown to promote neuronal growth in the brain to counteract apoptosis and reduce infarct size in stroke models in vivo. Clinically, GM-CSF is used to ameliorate the symptoms of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and monocytopenia by promoting the release of progenitor cells from bone marrow.
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