Abnormal Expression of Galactosyl(α1→3) Galactose Epitopes in Squamous Cells of the Uterine Cervix Infected by Human Papillomavirus

Autor: Gisela Cáceres-Dittmar, Dimas E Hernández, Félix J. Tapia, José L. Avila, Ivo W. Tremont-Lukats, Miguel Rojas
Rok vydání: 1996
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pathobiology. 64:239-246
ISSN: 1423-0291
1015-2008
DOI: 10.1159/000164054
Popis: This study describes the presence of alpha-galactosyl epitopes on 12 cervical biopsy samples with features of human papillomavirus infection (HPV) and different stages of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. An avidin-biotin-peroxidase assay with a monoclonal antibody recognizing gal(alpha 1--3)gal residues was strongly positive in 5 of 12 cases. None of the controls stained (p = 0.02). Immunostaining was intense in the areas with the highest viral load (koilocytes and keratinocytes) and absent in malignant foci. Immunostaining was also absent in normal exo- and endocervical epithelium of 12 controls with no features of HPV infection. A faint background staining in cases and controls was evident, but similar. These initial findings suggest that alpha-galactosyl epitopes are expressed in cervical squamous cells infected with HPV, turning them vulnerable to lysis by natural anti-alpha-galactosyl antibodies.
Databáze: OpenAIRE