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J Clin Pathol 2009;62:159-162 doi:10.1136/jcp.2008.061408
  • Original article

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

  1. P Conesa-Zamora1,
  2. A Doménech-Peris2,
  3. S Ortiz-Reina3,
  4. F J Orantes-Casado2,
  5. J Acosta-Ortega3,
  6. J García-Solano3,
  7. M Pérez-Guillermo3
  1. 1
    Grupo de Patología Molecular y Farmacogenética, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain
  2. 2
    Servicio de Análisis Clínicos, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain
  3. 3
    Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Universitario Santa María del Rosell, Cartagena, Spain
  1. 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
  • Accepted 24 September 2008
  • Published Online First 17 October 2008

Abstract

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.

Footnotes

  • ‣ A supplementary table is published online only at http://jcp.bmj.com/content/vol62/issue2

  • Funding: This work was supported by a grant from Fundación para la Formación e Investigación Sanitarias, Consejería de Sanidad de la Región de Murcia, Spain and Fundación Cajamurcia.

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Ethics approval: Obtained.

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