Enrichment of Tissue-Derived Adult Stem Cells Based on Retained Extracellular Matrix Material

A method of identifying an ECM component marker associated with a particular cell type, comprising:

• obtaining a population of cells including one or more cells of the desired type from animal tissue;
• contacting the population of cells with a recognition ligand specific for a particular ECM component;
• enriching the cells that have the recognition ligand associated therewith or bound thereto;
• and
• determining if the enriched cells have the properties of the desired cell type.

A method for enriching adult stem cells, comprising:

• obtaining a population of cells including one or more adult stem cells from animal tissue;
• contacting the population of cells with a recognition ligand specific for an EMC component or antigen that is present to a lesser degree on adult stem cells than on other cells in the population;
• and
• using a separation method to remove cells that are bound to a recognition ligand from the adult stem cells that are not bound to the recognition ligand.