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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–5Cite as

CEA Gene Family

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Synonyms

C-CAM; CD66a; CD66b; CD66c; CD66e; CEACAM1 = BGP; CEACAM5 = CEA; CEACAM6 =NCA; CEACAM7 = CGM2; CEACAM8 = CGM6

Definition

The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene family comprises 33 genes, 22 of which are expressed. All family members share similar structural features encompassing immunoglobulin (Ig) variable and/or constant domains and therefore constitute members of the large immunoglobulin superfamily. These proteins are either secreted or membrane bound. Several CEACAMs function as homophilic or heterophilic intercellular cell adhesion molecules. CEA, CEACAM1, CEACAM6, and CEACAM7 also play a significant role as regulators of tumor cell proliferation and differentiation and their overexpression (CEA and CEACAM6) or their downregulation (CEACAM1 and CEACAM7) contributes to progression of many epithelial cancers and immune dysfunctions.

Characteristics

The CEAgene family encodes a set of 22 genes and 11 pseudogenes clustered in a 1.8 Mb region on human chromosome 19q13.2...

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References

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  • Leung N, Turbide C, Marcus V et al (2006) Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) contributes to progression of colon tumors. Oncogene 25:5527–5536

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Goodman Cancer Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Nicole Beauchemin

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  1. Nicole Beauchemin
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Correspondence to Nicole Beauchemin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Beauchemin, N. (2014). CEA Gene Family. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_969-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_969-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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