Comparison of formalin, buffered formalin, and Bouin's fixation on the detection of human papillomavirus deoxyribonucleic acid from genital lesions.

Detection of nucleic acid sequences homologous to human papillomavirus (HPV) relies primarily on their extraction from unfixed tissue. We detected HPV sequences in DNA extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue fixed in formalin (buffered and unbuffered) and Bouin's solution by dot blot hybridization. A detectable hybridization signal was noted in 32% of these fixed tissues which were chosen from cases where HPV DNA was detected in the unfixed tissue. When using a homologous 32P-labeled probe and a high stringency wash, the hybridization signal was lost if DNA was extracted after Bouin's fixation and diminished after formalin fixation, more so with unbuffered formalin. Similar differences in the hybridization signals among the different fixatives after high stringency wash were noted with in situ hybridization. Southern blot analysis showed that DNA extracted from tissues fixed in Bouin's was degraded and ranged in size from 100 to 500 base pairs as compared with 100 to 900 base pairs for DNA extracted from tissue fixed with unbuffered formalin. In contrast, no degradation was noted after fixation with buffered formalin. These results demonstrate that HPV sequences can be identified in DNA extracted from paraffin-embedded, fixed tissue. However, use of some fixatives may preclude identification of HPV type, by either dot blot or in situ hybridization.