Heterogeneity of the protein moiety of carcinoembryonic antigens.

N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined for the protein moiety of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) isolated from three colon cancers that had metastasized to the liver. The results showed that the polypeptide portion of CEA preparations isolated from different tumors are not identical. Furthermore, each CEA preparation appeared to be heterogeneous within itself, since multiple amino acid residues were recovered at most of the positions following stepwise cleavage of the protein moiety of CEA molecules by automatic Edman degradation.