Background
Bone marrow stromal cell antigen-1 is a stromal cell line-derived glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored molecule that facilitates pre-B-cell growth. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits 33% similarity with CD38. BST1 expression is enhanced in bone marrow stromal cell lines derived from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The polyclonal B-cell abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis may be, at least in part, attributed to BST1 overexpression in the stromal cell population.