Concise Review: Evidence for CD34 as a Common Marker for Diverse Progenitors

CD34 is a transmembrane phosphoglycoprotein, first identified on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Clinically, it is associated with the selection and enrichment of hematopoietic stem cells for bone marrow transplants. Due to these historical and clinical associations, CD34 expression is almost ubiquitously related to hematopoietic cells, and it is a common misconception that CD34-positive (CD34(+) ) cells in nonhematopoietic samples represent hematopoietic contamination. The prevailing school of thought states that multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) do not express CD34. However, strong evidence demonstrates CD34 is expressed not only by MSC but by a multitude of other nonhematopoietic cell…

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  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council