Abstract
Using an indirect immunohistochemical technique on paraffin sections, employing a polyclonal antibody to the acidic (placental) form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), we have evaluated cytoplasmic and nuclear staining in a series of 67 cervical biopsies including normal non neoplastic tissue, immature squamous metaplasia, all grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive carcinomas of keratinising and non-keratinising types. No differences in cytoplasmic staining between the varied lesions studied were seen. However, there were marked differences in nuclear staining. While normal non-neoplastic stratified squamous epithelium showed weak staining of the lower one-third of the epithelium only, in immature squamous metaplasia and in all grades of CIN there was intense nuclear staining in all layers of the epithelium. Invasive carcinomas showed generally less intense nuclear staining than CIN lesions. Endocervical cell nuclei also showed intense nuclear staining. These findings indicate that GST is of limited use as a marker of transformation in the human cervix uteri.
Highlights
Previous studies have examined the expression of a number of potential markers of transformation, and studies on cytokeratin have been of particular interest amongst these (Morris et al, 1983; Fray et al, 1984)
The material studied consisted of seven normal cervices from hysterectomy specimens, 11 colposcopic biopsies showing immature squamous metaplasia, seven each of CINI, CIN2 and CIN3 from colposcopic biopsy specimens and 28 invasive carcinomas, some of which were from cervical punch biopsies (n = 18) while others were from hysterectomy specimens (n = 10)
There was some variation between individual cases, the pattern of cytoplasmic staining was similar in normal stratified squamous cervical epithelium, immature squamous metaplasia, all grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive carcinomas
Summary
Previous studies have examined the expression of a number of potential markers of transformation, and studies on cytokeratin have been of particular interest amongst these (Morris et al, 1983; Fray et al, 1984). While normal cervical stratified squamous epithelium expresses high molecular weight cytokeratins, all non-keratinising invasive squamous carcinomas and some cases of CIN3 express low-molecular weight cytokeratins as well as those of high molecular weight (Whittaker et al, 1989; Raju, 1988; Bobrow et al, 1986). There is a change in cytokeratin expression associated with the development of in situ and invasive malignancy. The expression of low molecular weight cytokeratins by these cells appears to accompany the process of malignant transformation; possibly low molecular weight cytokeratins are appropriate for proliferating or mobile squamous cells. Since low molecular weight cytokeratins are expressed by
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