The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family (CD66) expressed in melanocytic naevi is not expressed in blue naevuscell naevi in dendritic type.
BACKGROUND
Although sporadic reports have regarded the expression of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family in melanoma, there has been no information about the expression in precursor lesions of melanoma such as melanocytic naevi and blue naevi.


METHODS
The expression was immunohistochemically studied in frozen biopsy specimens of 45 acquired and 16 congenital melanocytic naevi and 20 blue naevi, using a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies that recognize different epitopes of CEA and related molecules.


RESULTS
Members of the CEA glycoprotein family were strongly expressed in all of the subtypes of melanocytic naevus. A reduced expression of the CEA glycoproteins with increased dermal depth or acquisition of a spindled morphology of naevus cells was apparent. The expression was not seen in the present blue naevi and normal epidermal melanocytes.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the significance of the expression was not clarified, this report has clearly demonstrated that the CEA family is strongly expressed in melanocytic naevi and immunoreactivity is divergent between melanocytic naevi and blue naevi and between dermal naevus cell types, suggesting that the expression may be altered with architectural changes in the melanocyte-lineage cells.
Department of Dermatology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Honjo, Japan. kuroibo@kaiju.medic.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
K
K
Egawa
Y
Y
Honda
M
M
Kuroki
T
T
Ono
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D004817:Epidermis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D018329:Nevus, Blue / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen