IDENTIFICATION OF A HUMAN ERYTHROID PROGENITOR-CELL POPULATION WHICH EXPRESSES THE CD34 ANTIGEN AND BINDS THE PLANT LECTIN ULEX-EUROPAEUS-I

Two and three color now cytometry of normal human bone marrow was used to identify CD34+ progenitor cells and examine their binding to the p lant lectin Ulex europaeus I (Ulex). In normal bone marrow, 48.48 +/- 17.4% of the CD34+ cells bind to Ulex. Two color now cytometry was use d to sort CD34+ cells, and subsets of CD34+ cells, CD34+Ulex+ and CD34 +Ulex-. These populations were sorted into colony assays to assess mye loid (CFU-GM) and erythroid (BFU-E) progenitors. The CD34 + Ulex + sub set was 84 +/- 14% BFU-E colonies (mean +/- S.D.) and had the highest cloning efficiency of 28 +/- 13%. Three color analysis of CD34 + Ulex + cells showed staining with other erythroid (CD71, GlyA) antibodies a nd lack of staining with myeloid (CD13, CD45RA) antibodies. These stud ies confirmed the erythroid characteristics of this subpopulation. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.