Isolation of a cDNA encoding CD33, a differentiation antigen of myeloid progenitor cells

A cDNA clone encoding the human myeloid Ag CD33 was isolated from a U937 cDNA library after three rounds of transient expression in COS cells and enrichment by panning. COS cells transfected with the isolated clone expressed a surface protein recognized by the anti-CD33 mAb MY9, L1B2, and L4F3, having mass similar to but slightly smaller than the mass of CD33 expressed on myeloid cells. CD33 transcripts were found constitutively expressed in several myeloid progenitor cell lines. The cDNA sequence predicts a 40-kDa polypeptide with the typical features of a glycosylated integral membrane protein. The extracellular part of CD33 contains two Ig-like domains which are highly related to the first two domains of the neural cell myelin-associated glycoprotein and the B cell Ag CD22.