BCH 4116 Lecture Notes - Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Bioassay, Analyte
Document Summary
All questions for the exam and assignments are from the lectures. A carcinoembryonic antigen (cea) is a biomarker of cancer. Cea: cea is a protein that is normally found in very low levels in the blood of adults. Its first found in the gastrointestinal tissue during fetal development but then the production lowers significantly after birth. It"s a glycoprotein (a protein that has a carbohydrate group attached to the polypeptide chain) that"s involved with intercellular adhesion. Its shed from the surface of cell proteins then released into the blood circulation and can be detected in the serum (protein rich fluid in the blood) In normal blood, the concentration should be less than 2. 5ng/ml (very small). When trying to find if someone has cancer, you need to identify the marker (levels of cea) and its concentration. How to develop a bioassay: 5 considerations and 8 fundamentals. But to define the stages of the cancer you need to detect the exact amount.
