Assignment of the coding sequence for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and normal cross-reacting antigen (NCA) to human...

We have isolated and localized to chromosome 19 a genomic sequence for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). A human cosmid bank was screened with two degenerate oligonucleotide sequences corresponding to N-terminal segments of the protein. Sequence analysis of a selected cosmid has confirmed the presence of an exon representing the 107 amino acids of the first protein domain (plus part of a putative leader sequence). In situ hybridization of both the exon DNA sequence and a more extensive genomic fragment to replication banded chromosomes has indicated that CEA and strongly cross-hybridizing members of the CEA family can be assigned to 19q13. This conclusion is supported by studies with a somatic cell hybrid cell-line.