To investigate the behavior of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in cord blood (CB), we. analyzed the expression and function of TIE2, a tyrosine kinase receptor. A subpopulation of Lineage (Lin)(-/low)CD34(+) cells in CB expressed TIE2 (18.8%). Assays for long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) and cobble-stone formation revealed that Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(+) cells showed to have a capacity of primitive hematopoietic precursor cells in vitro. When Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(+) cells were cultured on the stromal cells, they transmigrated under the stromal layers and kept an immature character for a few weeks. By contrast, Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(-) cells differentiated immediately within a few weeks. Finally, we confirmed that 1 x 10(4) Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(+) cells were engrafted in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice, while 1 x 10(4) Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(-) cells were not. Taken together, we conclude that TIE2 is a marker of HSCs in CB. A ligand for TIE2, Ang-1 promoted the adhesion of sorted primary Lin(-/low)CD34(+)TIE2(+) cells to fibronectin (FN), and this adhesion may play a critical role in keeping HSCs in an immature status under the stromal cells. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.