Carcinoembryonic antigen(s) in liver disease. II. Isolation from human cirrhotic liver and serum and from normal liver.

Abstract

An antigen (or antigens) was extracted and partially purified from (a) the serum of a patient with severe alcoholic cirrhosis, (b) a normal and (c) a cirrhotic liver, and (d) liver metastases from adenocarcinoma of the colon. Fractionation of these antigens on Sepharose 4-B and Sephadex G-200 columns indicated that they were all of similar molecular weight. Immunological characterization using (a) the radioimmunoassay for carcinoembryonic antigen, (b) Ouchterlony double diffusion, (c) immunoprecipitin inhibition, and (d) immunoelectrophoresis indicated immunological “identity” of these antigens to carcinoembryonic antigen. Liver metastases of colon carcinoma contained 5,000 to 10,000 times the activity found in either the cirrhotic or normal livers.