title: Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 4 (CEACAM4) is specifically expressed in medullary thyroid carcinoma cells.
abstract: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), an oncofetal cell surface glycoprotein, has been widely used as a human tumor marker due to its high expression in tumors and secretion to serum. It belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily named CEA-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) family. Members of this family are detected in various cancers and have been shown to be involved in cancer growth and invasion. In this study, we examined the mRNA expression profiles of CEACAM family members including CEACAM1, CEACAM3, CEACAM4, CEACAM5 (CEA), CEACAM6, CEACAM7, and CEACAM8 in various tumor cell lines. Our screening data indicated that the mRNA expression patterns of CEACAMs in TT cells, which are derived from medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), were distinct from other tumor cell lines. Additionally, CEACAM4 was only expressed in TT cells, in which two novel splice variants of CEACAM4 were expressed. These findings suggested that production of CEA and CEA-related molecules in MTC may be distinct from other tumor-based production of those molecules and that the specific expression of CEACAM4 would make possible to differentiate between MTC and other CEA-producing tumors.
authors.affiliation: Medical Genetics Division, Shizuoka Cancer Center Research Institute, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanako
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi-Nakao
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ken Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
mesh_terms: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018278:Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C000597331:CEACAM4 protein, human; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger