CELLULAR SUBSETS AND EPITHELIAL ICAM-1 AND HLA-DR EXPRESSION IN HUMANPAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION OF THE VULVA

Cryostat sections of 20 clinical condylomata of the vulva induced by h uman papillomavirus and 5 normal control biopsies were examined using immunohistochemistry. The results indicated that in vulvar papillomavi rus infection the intraepithelial Langerhans' cells showed abnormal mo rphology and a significantly lower density than controls. CD1a positiv e Langerhans' cells were also observed in dermis of condylomata, sugge sting an abnormal epithelial traffic of dendritic cells. T lymphocytes with a mean CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.25 and a mean density of 267 +/- 59 ce lls/mm(2) of epithelial section were the main cellular infiltrate in v ulvar papillomavirus infection. Most of the T cells were HLA-DR negati ve. Those condylomata with moderate to severe mononuclear infiltrate s howed leucocyte function antigen 1 positive T cells forming small clus ters in the lower epithelial half around the ICAM-1 positive keratinoc ytes. Vulvar warts also showed epithelial areas with overlapped ICAM-1 and HLA-DR expression. Scattered T gamma-delta and B lymphocytes, mac rophages and NK cells were observed among the cells of the dermal infi ltrate of vulvar condylomata.