The adhesive mechanisms allowing hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) homing to the bone marrow (BM) after BM transplantation are poorly understood. We investigated the role of endothelial selectins and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in this process. Lethally irradiated recipient mice deficient in both P-and E-selectins (P/E-/-), reconstituted with minimal numbers (</=5 x 10(4)) of wild-type BM cells, poorly survived the procedure compared with wild-type recipients. Excess mortality in P/E-/- mice, after a lethal dose of irradiation, was likely caused by a defect of HPC homing. Indeed, we observed that the recruitment of HPC to the BM was reduced in P/E-/- animals, either splenectomized or spleen-intact. Homing into the BM of P/E-/- recipient mice was further compromised when a function-blocking VCAM-1 antibody was administered. Circulating HPC, 14 hr after transplantation, were greatly increased in P/E-/- mice treated with anti-VCAM-1 compared with P/E-/- mice treated with just IgG or wild-type mice treated with either anti-VCAM-1 or IgG. Our results indicate that endothelial selectins play an important role in HPC homing to the BM. Optimal recruitment of HPC after lethal doses of irradiation requires the combined action of both selectins and VCAM-1 expressed on endothelium of the BM.