Physicochemical characteristics of carcinoembryonic antigen extracted from medullary carcinoma of the thyroid.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and calcitonin (CT) were extracted from medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT) tissues, fractionated on Sephacryl S-200 and chromatographed on Concanavalin A. CEA purified from MCT is closely related to CEA extracted from colonic tumors. It has an equivalent molecular weight, is a glycoprotein and has a similar electrophoretic mobility in both SDS and basic polyacrylamide electrophoresis. A certain degree of heterogeneity is present in the form of a smaller molecular weight component. Large molecular forms of CT which are present in MCT tissues and which co-elute with the minor component of CEA on Sephacryl chromatography can be separated by Concanavalin A chromatography.