Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Megakaryocyte Differentiation and Platelet Formation from Human Cord Blood-derived CD34+ Cells
Published on: December 27, 2017
BIRMA-K3, a new monoclonal antibody for CD34 immunophenotyping and stem and progenitor cell assay
H G Höffkes1, J A Lowe, R O Pedersen
1Department of Medicine, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany.
A murine monoclonal antibody with specificity for the CD34 antigen has been produced and designated BIRMA-K3. The antibody characterized as IgG1(kappa) has been shown to react with KG-1a cells following treatment of the cells with glycoprotease enzyme, indicating reactivity with the class III epitope of CD34. It was possible to show that class I and class II anti-CD34 antibodies were not able to inhibit binding of BIRMA-K3. Investigation of FITC-labeled as well as PE-labeled BIRMA-K3 resulted in a clear cut-off staining of acute leukemias and CD34+ cell counts in patients submitted to high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. The results obtained correlate strongly with those from HPCA-2, the Becton-Dickinson class III antibody.
A murine monoclonal antibody with specificity for the CD34 antigen has been produced and designated BIRMA-K3. The antibody characterized as IgG1(kappa) has been shown to react with KG-1a cells following treatment of the cells with glycoprotease enzyme, indicating reactivity with the class III epitope of CD34. It was possible to show that class I and class II anti-CD34 antibodies were not able to inhibit binding of BIRMA-K3. Investigation of FITC-labeled as well as PE-labeled BIRMA-K3 resulted in a clear cut-off staining of acute leukemias and CD34+ cell counts in patients submitted to high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. The results obtained correlate strongly with those from HPCA-2, the Becton-Dickinson class III antibody.

