Direct in situ PCR allows rapid and sensitive detection of high risk humanpapillomavirus in cytologic specimens and formalin-fixed paraffin tissues by fluorescent labelling

We developed a rapid, sensitive and robust high risk human papillomavirus ( HR HPV) detection protocol based on direct in situ PCR technology and fluor ochrome-modified nucleotides on cytologic specimens (cell smears) and on HP V infected tissues (CIN III). Reproducible results on both cytologic specim ens and paraffin-embedded tissues were obtained, providing a powerful tool for clinical investigation on HR HPV infection. Quantitative PCR performed on the same tissue sections adjacent to those used for in situ techniques a llowed us to establish the sensitivity of our methods, able to detect rare copies (about 15 in our paraffin-embedded tissues) of HPV.