CD34 is a 115-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein of unknown function that is expressed on human hematopoietic progenitor cells and the small vessel endothelium of a variety of tissues. We have isolated a CD34 cDNA clone from a KG-1 cell library following three rounds of transient expression in COS cells and enrichment by panning with the anti-CD34 mAb MY10 and BI-3C5. The 5' and 3' ends of the full-length cDNA were subsequently amplified by polymerase chain reaction from KG-1 RNA; the final cDNA clone contained 2615 bp and ended in a poly(A) tail. COS cells transfected with the cDNA clone expressed a surface protein of approximately 110 kDa that was immunoprecipitated by MY10. Southern blot analysis suggested that CD34 is a single copy gene. A 2.7-kb CD34 transcript was observed in the hematopoietic cell lines KG-1, KMT-2, AML-1, RPMI 8402, and MOLT 13 and the endothelial cells BAE and EAhy926, but not in monocytes, resting T cells, or the cell lines Laz 509, HL-60, U937, K562, and HeLa. The cDNA sequence predicts a 40-kDa type I integral membrane protein with nine potential N-linked and numerous potential O-linked glycosylation sites in its extracellular domain. There are two consensus protein kinase C phosphorylation sites and one potential tyrosine kinase phosphorylation site in the cytoplasmic portion of CD34. CD34 has no significant sequence homology to any known protein but has some structural similarities to the heavily glycosylated leukocyte surface molecule CD43.