Human hematopoietic stem and progenitor antigen and methods for its use

Abstract

A hematopoietic progenitor cell antigen and reagents, notably antibodies, that specifically bind to the antigen are provided. Expression of the antigen is highly tissue specific. It is only detected on a subset of hematopoietic progenitor cells derived from human bone marrow, fetal bone marrow and liver, cord blood and adult peripheral blood. The subset of cells recognized by AC133 is CD34 bright and contains substantially all of the CFU-GM activity present in the CD34 + population. This highly specific distribution of AC133 makes it exceptionally useful as a reagent for isolating and characterizing human hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells. Cells selected for expression of AC133 antigen can be further purified by selection for other hematopoietic stem cell and progenitor cell markers.

1 . An antibody that specifically binds to AC133 antigen.  
     
     
         2 . An antibody according to  claim 1 , wherein said antibody is a monoclonal antibody produced by a hybridoma cell line.  
     
     
         3 . A monoclonal antibody according to  claim 2 , wherein said antibody blocks simultaneous binding to said antigen by the antibody produced by the hybridoma cell line ATCC HB12346.  
     
     
         4 . A monoclonal antibody according to  claim 1 , wherein said antibody is induced through contralateral immunization.  
     
     
         5 . A monoclonal antibody according to  claim 1 , produced by the hybridoma cell line ATCCHB12346.  
     
     
         6 - 51 . (canceled)