ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Immunohistochemical evaluation of ProEx C in human papillomavirus-induced lesions of the cervix

P Conesa-Zamora¹, A Doménech-Peris², S Ortiz-Reina³, F J Orantes-Casado², J Acosta-Ortega³, J García-Solano³, M Pérez-Guillermo³

¹ Grupo de Patología Molecular y Farmacogenética, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain
² Servicio de Análisis Clínicos, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain
³ Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain

Dr P Conesa-Zamora, Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Paseo Alfonso XIII 61, 30203 Cartagena, Spain; pablo.conesa{at}carm.es

Aims: Considering the sparse information about the clinical utility of the novel immunohistochemical marker ProEx C in histological sections, a decision was taken to study the pattern of ProEx C expression in normal/benign cervical epithelium (N/B), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL), as well as the association of ProEx C expression with human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes.

Methods: 100 cervical samples, including 21 N/B cervices, 16 LGSILs, 61 HGSILs and two cervical invasive carcinomas, were obtained from conisation and hysterectomy. Surgical specimens were arranged in three tissue microarrays and stained for ProEx C. Ninety-three samples were HPV genotyped. Genotyping was performed by DNA amplification and hybridisation with genotype-specific probes on a low-density DNA array.

Results: ProEx C-positive expression in more than the lower third of the epithelium was observed in 14.3% of N/B, 62.5% of LGSIL and 90.2% of HGSIL. Seventy percent of HPV positivity was found in cases with expression in more than the lower third of the epithelium. Of 31 cases that were positive for HPV16, 16.1% showed ProEx C expression restricted to one or two basal layers, and 83.9% showed ProEx C expression in more than the lower third of the epithelium.

Conclusions: ProEx C is significantly associated with HPV16 infection and is a useful adjunct in the identification of LGSIL and HGSIL in histological sections when expressed in more than the lower third of the epithelium.

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Conesa-Zamora, P., Domenech-Peris, A., Orantes-Casado, F. J., Ortiz-Reina, S., Sahuquillo-Frias, L., Acosta-Ortega, J., Garcia-Solano, J., Perez-Guillermo, M. (2009). Effect of Human Papillomavirus on Cell Cycle-Related Proteins p16, Ki-67, Cyclin D1, p53, and ProEx C in Precursor Lesions of Cervical Carcinoma: A Tissue Microarray Study. Am J Clin Pathol 132: 378-390 [Abstract] [Full Text]