The effects of recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were compared to those of media conditioned by the continuous bladder carcinoma line, HTB9 (HTB9-CM), using three criteria. First, both GM-CSF and HTB9-CM stimulated blast colony formation in methylcellulose cultures, patient-to-patient variations were seen in the dose-response curves, and GM-CSF was effective, but less so that HTB9-CM. Second, GM-CSF also enhanced growth of blast progenitors in suspension culture, indicating its capacity to support self-renewal. GM-CSF was as effective as HTB9-CM in the production of adherent cells during the growth of blast cells in suspension, a finding that is interpreted to mean that GM-CSF also supports postdeterministic events in blast differentiation. Finally, colonies growing in the presence of GM-CSF were not phenotypically different than those stimulated by HTB9-CM.