Researchers have shown that administering granulocyte
macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to the lungs of
mice protects against infection with otherwise lethal doses of
influenza virus including H1N1. The work, led by Homayoun Shams,
Ph.D., at the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease
Control at the University of Texas Health Science Center, found
that GM-CSF acts to boost the activity of alveolar macrophages
rather than trigger B- or T cell-mediated mechanisms. They hope
to eventually carry out clinical trials to test whether
pulmonary delivery of GM-CSF can also protect people against
flu. Their studies in mice are reported in the American Journal
of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in a paper titled “GM-
CSF in the lung protects against lethal influenza infection.” In
their work, Dr. Shams team demonstrated that all wild-type mice
died after infection with different strains of flu virus. In
contrast, transgenic mice that overexpressed GM-CSF just in
their lungs all survived after infec