Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is an inhibitor of the growth and differentiation of immature hematopoietic progenitors in vitro; however, we have demonstrated that TGF-beta 1 can promote granulopoiesis in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in vitro. We therefore examined the effect of the combined administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in vivo. First, TGF-beta 1 enhanced the specific binding of GM-CSF (2.0-fold) on bone marrow cells, reaching a maximum 40 hours after injection, while the specific binding of interleukin-3 (IL-3) was unaffected. Using GM-CSF-specific binding to determine the optimal regimen for cytokine administration in vivo, we found that the administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in sequence increased myelopoiesis. Total numbers of colony-forming units-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) and myeloblasts per femur were increased above the level obtained with the simultaneous injection of TGF-beta 1 plus GM-CSF, GM-CSF alone or TGF-beta 1 alone. Further, the sequential administration of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF resulted in enhanced numbers of mature granulocytes in both the bone marrow and peripheral blood. In contrast, the sequential combination of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF did not enhance the numbers or increase the recovery of erythroid cells in the bone marrow. These results show that TGF-beta 1 in vivo as in vitro has a multifunctional effect on bone marrow progenitors, and by using an optimal combination of TGF-beta 1 and GM-CSF in vivo, one can selectively increase both the central and peripheral granulopoietic compartments.