CA125 is a tumor antigen widely used in monitoring ovarian cancer. MUC16, also known as the CA125
antigen is a 1,890-amino acid protein that contains characteristic features of a mucin-type molecule,
including a high serine, threonine, and proline content in an N-terminal region of 9 partially conserved tandem
repeats and a C-terminal region nontandem repeat sequence containing a possible transmembrane region and a
potential tyrosine phosphorylation site.
General function
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Cellular localization
Secreted
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Ovarian function
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For a review on tumor
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/2/5/324.full
Expression regulated by
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Ovarian localization
Ovarian tumor
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Tumor marker Zeimet AG,et al reviewed literature on peritoneum and tissues of the female reproductive tract as
physiological sources of CA-125.
The origin of physiological CA-125 serum levels, which in normally menstruating
women were shown to depend on their actual menstrual cycle phase, has not yet
been completely elucidated. It is furthermore conceivable that physiological
CA-125 sources may contribute to serum elevations in the various pathologies
associated with increased circulating CA-125. The present review deals with
menstrual cycle-dependent expression of CA-125 in normal tissues of the female
reproductive tract in relation to the actual circulating CA-125 levels together with
in vivo data concerning the inductive effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on
circulating CA-125 studied in 24 postmenopausal women. Furthermore, in vitro
results on constitutive, steroid hormone- and cytokine-modulated CA-125
shedding from human peritoneal mesothelial and ovarian surface epithelial cells
are summarized.