Carcinoembryonic antigens of erythrocyte membranes

The non-Mendelian inheritance of Lewis-c blood group substance, as demonstrated in the case of a Bombay, Le(a-b-c-) saliva

A Bombay, Le(a-b-) saliva was shown to lack Pneumococcus type XIV activity, an unusual situation, since this sample should be rich in this precursor to the ABO blood group substances. However, the sample was found to contain a new serological specificity, Le-c. It is argued that simple Mendelian inheritance does not occur with Le-c and single gene control cannot be demonstrated. Failure to repress a fetal gene at birth, as implicated by the similarity in structure between Le-c and carcinoembryonic antigen [SIMMONS and PERLMANN], has been excluded as the mechanism of inheritance of this blood group substance, due to the inability to detect carcinoembryonic antigen in the test saliva.

Isolation and partial characterization of macromolecular urinary aggregates containing carcinoembryonic antigen-like activity

Carcinoembryonic antigen-like substances in the urine of patients with bladder carcinoma and of healthy male subjects occur in a wide range of average molecular sizes. Some of these substances are glycoproteins giving reactions of antigenic identity with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) derived from colorectal carcinoma and occur in aggregation with proteins showing antigen specificities of albumin, haptoglobin and the heavy chains of immunoglobulins G, A and M. Recoveries of CEA-like activities, following Sepharose 4B chromatography of urinary materials of molecular size > 3 × 10(4), varied from 40 to 1530%. Treatment with 1 mol/1 HClO(4) caused an apparent solubilization of 85% of the CEA-like activity of such materials from the urine of a patient with bladder carcinoma and raised the specific CEA-like activity of the solubilized product to 379% of that of the untreated materials.

Carcinoembryonic antigen-like substances of human urothelial carcinomas. Isolation of components from pathological urine and comparison with colorectal carcinoma antigens

Urines of several patients with urothelial carcinomas contain inhibitors of the immunoreaction between carcinoembryonic antigen derived from human colorectal carcinomas and monospecific goat antiserum raised against the antigen. These inhibitors range in approximate molecular weights from less than 1000 to several millions, and two have been isolated by a combination of extraction, gel filtration and electrophoretic procedures. These are respectively a macromolecular aggregate, component UCEA-3, which is excluded by Sepharose 4B, and a glycoprotein(s) component, UCEA-1, with mean molecular weight (2x10(5)) similar to that of carcinoembryonic antigen. Comparison of the properties of component UCEA-1 and carcinoembryonic antigen on gel filtration, electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis and density gradient ultracentrifugation indicates that these substances of similar molecular size and net charge differ in some immunochemical properties.