For bone marrow transplantation, donor hematopoietic cells are routinely mobilized from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood by the cytokine G-CSF. By studying mouse strains that respond to G-CSF with varying degrees of mobilization, Marnie A. Ryan et al. discovered that the epidermal growth factor receptor, acting in bone marrow cells, restrains this response. An inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor activity augmented G-CSF–induced mobilization in mice, suggesting that this approach might be clinically useful in bone marrow transplantation.
- Marnie A Ryan
- Kalpana J Nattamai
- Hartmut Geiger
