Abstract
The level of mRNA for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and nonspecific crossreacting antigen (NCA) in human colon adenocarcinomas and normal colon mucosa was analyzed by Northern blot hybridization using as probes 32P‐labeled CEA cDNA and synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides specific to CEA and NCA mRNA sequences. The major 3.5‐kb mRNA and a minor 4.2‐kb mRNA are shown to be CEA‐specific and expressed in both tissues, albeit at slightly different degrees, suggesting that the expression of CEA is regulated posttranscriptionally. Another minor mRNA of 2.9 kb is NCA‐specific and expressed predominantly in cancerous tissues, suggesting its usefulness as a marker for colon cancer.
Keywords: Carcinoembryonic antigen, Nonspecific crossreacting antigen, mRNA, Expression, Hybridization
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (271.8 KB).
References
- 1. ) von Kleist , S. , Chavanel , G. and Burtin , P.Identification of an antigen from normal human tissue that crossreacts with the carcinoembryonic antigen . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 69 , 2492 – 2494 ( 1972. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. ) Burtin , P. , Chavanel , G. and Hirsch‐Marie , H.Characterization of a second normal antigen that cross‐reacts with CEA . J. Immunol. 111 , 1926 – 1928 ( 1973. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3. ) Kessler , M. J. , Shively , J. E. , Pritchard , D. G. and Todd , C. W.Isolation, immunological characterization, and structural studies of a tumor antigen related to carcinoembryonic antigen . Cancer Res. 38 , 1041 – 1048 ( 1978. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4. ) Kuroki , M. , Koga , Y. and Matsuoka , Y.Purification and characterization of carcinoembryonic antigen‐related antigens in normal adult feces . Cancer Res. 41 , 713 – 720 ( 1981. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5. ) Svenberg , T.Carcinoembryonic antigen‐like substances of human bile: isolation and partial characterization . Int. J. Cancer 17 , 588 – 596 ( 1976. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6. ) Oikawa , S. , Nakazato , H. and Kosaki , G.Primary structure of human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) deduced from cDNA sequence . Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 142 , 511 – 518 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7. ) Zimmermann , W. , Ortlieb , B. , Friedrich , R. and von Kleist , S.Isolation and characterization of cDNA clones encoding the human carcinoembryonic antigen reveal a highly conserved repeating structure . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84 , 2960 – 2964 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8. ) Beauchmin , N. , Benchimol , S. , Cournoyer , D. , Fuchs , A. and Stanners , C. P.Isolation and characterization of full‐length cDNA clones for human carcinoembryonic antigen . Mol. Cell. Biol. 7 , 3221 – 3230 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9. ) Tawaragi , Y. , Oikawa , S. , Matsuoka , Y. , Kosaki , G. and Nakazato , H.Primary structure of nonspecific crossreacting antigen (NCA), a member of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene family, deduced from cDNA sequence . Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 150 , 89 – 96 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10. ) Thompson , J. A. , Pande , H. , Paxton , R. J. , Shively , L. , Padma , A. , Simmer , R. L. , Todd , C. W. , Riggs , A. D. and Shively , J. E.Molecular cloning of a gene belonging to the carcinoembryonic antigen gene family and discussion of a domain model . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84 , 2965 – 2969 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11. ) Oikawa , S. , Kosaki , G. and Nakazato , H.Molecular cloning of a gene for a member of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene family; signal peptide and N‐terminal domain sequences of nonspecific cross‐reacting antigen (NCA) . Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 146 , 464 – 469 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12. ) Oikawa , S. , Imai , M. , Ueno , A. , Tanaka , S. , Noguchi , T. , Nakazato , H. , Kangawa , K. , Fukuda , A. and Matsuo , H.Cloning and sequence analysis of a cDNA encoding a precursor for human atrial natriuretic polypeptide . Nature 309 , 724 – 726 ( 1984. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13. ) Miyaki , M. , Sato , C. , Matsui , T. , Koike , M. , Mori , T. , Kosaki , G. , Takai , S. , Tonomura , A. and Tsuchida , N.Amplification and enhanced expression of cellular oncogene c‐Ki‐ras‐2 in a human epidermoid carcinoma of the lung . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. (Gann) 76 , 260 – 265 ( 1985. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14. ) Bos , J. L. , Verlaan‐de Vries , M. , Jansen , A. M. , Veeneman , G. H. , van Boon , J. H. and van der Eb , A. J.The different mutations in codon 61 of the human N‐ras gene detected by synthetic oligonucleotide hybridization . Nucleic Acids Res. 12 , 9155 – 9163 ( 1984. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15. ) Paxton , R. J. , Mooser , G. , Pande , H. , Lee , T. D. and Shively , J. E.Sequence analysis of carcinoembryonic antigen: identification of glycosylation sites and homology with the immunoglobulin supergene family . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84 , 920 – 924 ( 1987. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]