The hematopoietic granulocyte-colony stimulating growth factor (G-CSF, filgrastim) is an approved drug in hematology and oncology. Filgrastim's potential in neurodegenerative disorders is gaining increasingly more attention, as preclinical and early clinical studies suggest it could be a promising treatment option. G-CSF has had a tremendous record as a safe drug for more than three decades; however, its effects upon the central nervous system (CNS) are still not fully understood. In contrast to conceptual long-term clinical application with lower dosing, our present pilot study intends to give a first insight into the molecular effects of a single subcutaneous (s.c.) high-dose G-CSF application upon different regions of the rodent brain. We analyzed mRNA-and in some instances-protein data of neurogenic and non-neurogenic differentiation markers in different regions of rat brains five days after G-CSF (1.3 mg/kg) or physiological saline. We found a continuous downregulation of several markers in most brain regions. Remarkably, cerebellum and hypothalamus showed an upregulation of different markers. In conclusion, our study reveals minor suppressive or stimulatory effects of a single exceptional high G-CSF dose upon neurogenic and non-neurogenic differentiation markers in relevant brain regions, excluding unregulated responses or unexpected patterns of marker expression.
Keywords: G-CSF; brain repair; cellular brain therapy; cerebellum; filgrastim safety; high-dose G-CSF; neurodegeneration; neurogenesis; neuronal stem cells.