VLA-2 and VLA-5 cell adhesion molecules expression in CD34+cells from umbilical cord blood and from bone marrow

Background/Aims: Umbilical cord blood contains a large number of early hematopoietic cells with high proliferating capacity, that has been used as an alternative to bone marrow transplantation. The aim of this study is to investigate the number of two cell adhesion molecules in cord blood and in bone marrow. Methods: We investigated two integrins, named VLA-2 and VLA-5 (Very Late Appearing Antigen), expressed in the surface of CD34+ cells. The CD34+ cells, isolated with MACS CD34+ isolation kit, were labelled with the appropriate monoclonal antibodies. Results: Cell adhesion molecules showed highly expressed in both cord blood and bone marrow CD34+ cells. Conclusion: There are no significant differences between the two sources of CD34+ populations. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.