Effect of radiation on the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen of human gastric adenocarcinoma cells

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Abstract
The changes of antigenic expression of cultured human gastric adenocarcinoma MKN45 cells caused by irradiation were investigated to elucidate the immune responses to localized irradiation. The expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) showed remarkable increases in the culture supernatant and on the surface of the membrane of irradiated cells. The expression of major histocompatibility complex Class I antigen on the membrane also was enhanced by irradiation. In addition, the irradiated cell groups, when analyzed using a CEA‐specific probe, showed remarkable increases in the CEA mRNA. These enhancements increased in the 10‐Gy and 15‐Gy irradiated populations compared with the 5‐Gy irradiated population. These results suggest that the enhancement of expression of CEA by radiation takes place at the CEA gene expression (mRNA) level but not at the protein level.