[Hematopoietic growth factors]

Abstract

Hematopoietic growth factors are glycoproteins that stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Due to several technical advances, first of all to the techniques of recombinant DNA, it has become possible today to produce them highly-purified and in amounts big enough to enable its application in clinical trials. Until now, 5 hematopoietic growth factors have been studied on humans. In early clinical trials their safety and favourable biological efficacy has been proved. Obvious effectivity in vivo significantly broadens frontiers of possible therapeutic effects in several clinical conditions that include primary or secondary insufficiency of hematopoiesis. Their future applications have to include combinations of several different hematopoietic growth factors or their combinations with cytostatic drugs or immunomodulators.