G-CSF stimulates angiogenesis and promotes tumor growth: potential contribution of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells

Solid tumors require neovascularization for their growth. Recent evidence indicates that bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to tumor angiogenesis. We show here that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) markedly promotes growth of the colon cancer inoculated into the subcutaneous space of mice, whereas G-CSF had no effect on cancer cell proliferation in vitro. The accelerated tumor growth was associated with enhancement of neovascularization in the tumor. We found that bone marrow-derived cells participated in new blood vessel formation in tumor. Our findings suggest that G-CSF may have potential to promote tumor growth, at least in part, by stimulating angiogenesis in which bone marrow-derived EPCs play a role.