Surface antigens of murine hemopoietic stem cells. I. Cross reactivity of antisera against differentiated hemopoietic cells with bone marrow stem cells.

A model of multiply marked hemopoietic stem cells proposed by Till (1) has been tested with respect to antisera raised against differentiated murine hemopoietic cells. When absorbed with erythrocytes, antisera against CBA mouse lymph node lymphocytes, thymocytes, peritoneal macrophages and platelets cross-reacted strongly with pluripotent stem cells (CFUs) in bone marrow as determined by inhibition of spleen colony formation in lethally irradiated mice. Absorption of ATS, antimacrophage serum and antiplatelet serum with hemopoietic cells other than those used to prepare the antisera (e.g., ATS with neutrophils and platelets, antimacrophage serum with neutrophils, thymocytes and platelets and antiplatelet serum with neutrophils and thymocytes) did not reduce the activity of these antisera for CFUs whereas absorption with the inoculating cell type greatly reduced anti-stem cell activity. Absorption of these antisera with non-hemopoietic tissues such as brain, kidney, liver and testis in general had little effect on antistem cell activity, although a significant loss of activity was observed following absorption of antiplatelet serum with kidney. The antistem cell activity in ATS, antimacrophage serum and antiplatelet serum does not appear to be caused by antibodies against histocompatibility antigens sine bone marrow stem cells from histoincompatible C57BL and Balb/c mice were also sensitive to antisera against CBA mouse hemopoietic cells. In contrast to these findings, antisera against erythrocytes showed little cross-reactivity with CFUs, indicating that few antigens are held in common between erythrocytes and CFUs. We propose that nucleated hemopoietic cells and platelets retain cell line specific antigens in common with pluripotent stem cells from which they were derived, and that the continued expression of these antigens during differentiation may be involved in the differentiation process.