During the growth and study of NSCs, a range of molecules present on the surface of multipotent neural stem and 
progenitor cells (NSCs) were identified. These markers were identified using a number of human and murine 
neural stem cell lines, including 
retinal stem cells (RSCs). The NSC-specific markers identified included 
gene products as well as non-
protein molecules and 
sugar epitopes not directly coded in the 
genome. Together with surface markers which were determined to be absent from the surface of hNSCs, the molecules described herein provide a means to enrich for neural stem cells, or neural 
progenitor subpopulations, particularly using combinatorial 
cell sorting strategies. These same molecules also represent targets for pharmacological manipulation of NSC populations and subpopulations, both 
in vivo and 
ex vivo. Furthermore, these molecules provide potential targets for therapeutic manipulation of other neural precursor-related 
cell types including malignant 
cell types as well as diseases originating from, or preferentially affecting, various uncommitted or replication-
competent cell types.