EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF THE HUMAN-PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE-16 TRANSCRIPTIONFACTOR E2 IN LOW-GRADE AND HIGH-GRADE CERVICAL INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA

Specific antibodies against the C-terminus of E2, produced by affinity purification of polyclonal antisera, have been used to identify the c ellular populations which express the HPV 16 E2 transcription factor, in a series of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cervical tissues. Cas es were selected for both the presence of HPV 16 DNA (confirmed by mul tiple gene-specific PCR detections) and the presence of multiple grade s of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The data indicate that E2 expression is highest in CIN I and in koilocytic lesions. Lower exp ression was observed in CIN II and little in CIN III lesions. In contr ast, there was some restoration of E2 expression in invasive carcinoma s, although the intracellular distribution was much more diffuse. The location of E2 expression to the superficial layers of the cervical ep ithelium, as well as the occurrence of some basal expression in CIN I, suggests that antibodies against HPV 16 E2 could be a useful adjunct to standard histological techniques for the detection of 'at-risk' pat ients as part of a cervical screening programme. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.