Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1a-4L suppression of rat hepatocellular carcinomas.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a member of the CEA family of immunoglobulin-like adhesion molecules with two major splice variants, CEACAM1(a)-4L and CEACAM1(b)-4S, differing in the length of their COOH-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Both forms are down-regulated in prostate and liver carcinomas relative to normal tissues. We have previously shown in a nude mouse xenograft model that restoration of CEACAM1(a)-4L expression in human prostate carcinoma cells (PC-3) suppresses tumorigenicity, an effect observed with carcinomas from several other tissues but never established for hepatocellular carcinomas.