Erythroid spectrins, some other proteins of erythroid cytoskeleton, and the transmembrane protein band 3 are highly specific for erythrocytes and their progenitors. They are more reliable markers for erythroid differentiation than Glycophorin A, the commonly used marker for erythroid differentiation, because Glycophorin A is expressed also in many cell lines otherwise exhibiting mainly megacaryotic characteristics. Both erythroid α-spectrin and erythroid β-spectrin monoclonal antibodies can be used for example in identification of erythroid leukemias.
