Kinetics of serum cytokines in adults undergoing peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation

Abstract
Summary. We investigated the serum cytokine levels (G‐CSF, GM‐CSF, IL‐l/?, IL‐3 and IL‐6) using an ELISA in 14 patients with haematological malignancies undergoing peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation (PBPCT). Serum G‐CSF levels in all patients rose immediately after PBPCT, then gradually decreased as the neutrophil counts began to rise. No detectable serum levels of GM‐CSF or IL‐lp were observed, but serum levels of IL‐3 rose transiently immediately following PBPCT. Serum levels of JL‐6 rose transiently during a fever in four patients. These observations suggest that G‐CSF and L 3 may contribute to the early haemopoietic reconstitution in PBPCT.