Involucrin and cytokeratin intermediate filament protein expression in cervical carcinoma

Abstract

Heatley MK, Cork K. Involucrin and cytokeratin intermediate filament protein expression in cervical carcinoma. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998;8: 37-40. The expression of involucrin and cytokeratin (CK) 10/13, both markers of terminal squamous differentiation, CK14 and simple CK expression was studied in forty invasive cervical carcinomas. An intense reaction for involucrin and CK10/13 was identified in the well differentiated squamous carcinomas (5/5 and 3/5 cases, respectively) and the squamous foci of adenosquamous carcinomas (6/7 and 5/7 cases). The reaction in the adenocarcinomas (22/22 and 17/22 cases) and moderately differentiated squamous carcinomas (6/6 and 3/6 cases) was less intense. CK14 was immunolocalized at the peripheries of the well (3/5 cases) and moderately (4/6 cases) differentiated squamous cell carcinomas and in the adenosquamous (2/7 cases) carcinomas, but its expression was unusual in adenocarcinomas (4/22 cases). Simple cytokeratins were immunolocalized to all types of cervical carcinoma. These results indicate that focal squamous differentiation is more common than is morphologically obvious and support the view that different histological types of cervical carcinoma have a common reserve cell origin.