Over 100 cell surface markers have been identified through the use of monoclonal antibodies. Many of these markers have proven useful in identifying specific subpopulations of cells within mixed colonies. Accordingly, these molecules have been assigned a cluster of differentiation (CD) designation. One such marker, designated Thy-1 (also referred to as CDw90), is a phosphatidyl-anchored cell surface glycoprotein which when coexpressed with CD34 on cells from normal human bone marrow, identifies a subpopulation that includes putative hematopoietic, pleuripotent stem cells. Thy1+ cells from bone marrow have been implicated in syngeneic graft versus host disease and may serve to regulate autoreactivity after bone marrow transplant.
