Considers the recent explosion of knowledge about the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family, which resulted from the molecular cloning of family member genes in 1986.
Results indicating CEA family members upregulated in cancer could have an instrumental role in malignant transformation and metastasis, while those that are downregulated could have tumor suppressive functions are considered. Reviews, recent results, hypotheses, and clinical applications regarding a gene family that, from its widespread changes in expression in tumors at many sites, should be regarded as a "major player" in...

A vast number of neural cell surface glycoproteins belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily have been isolated over the past two decades. In functional studies, many of them have been shown to confer adhesive properties to cells and to play an important role in developmental processes such as cell migration and axon outgrowth. Recent observations implicate Ig superfamily adhesion molecules in the regulation of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, in regeneration after neural trauma, as well as in the pathogenesis of malformations in the developing nervous systems.
This book...

The past few years have seen considerable advances in our understanding of the molecular basis underlying cutaneous cell adhesion mechanisms. Co-authored by a number of leading experts in the field DEGREESCell Adhesion and Migration in Skin Disease provides a comprehensive overview of the critical role played by cell adhesion in determining the structure and function of both healthy and diseased human skin.
The book is divided into three main sections, with each one addressing a principal function of adhesion molecules.
The first part focuses on the epidermis, which as the skin's...