Immunohistochemical study of cytoplasmic oestradiol receptor in normal, dysplastic and malignant cervical tissue.

Using a monoclonal antibody raised against an oestrogen receptor-related protein, p29, and an indirect immunoperoxidase technique to stain human tissue, the presence of the antigen was investigated in normal, dysplastic and malignant tissue of the uterine cervix. In normal tissue p29 was present throughout the ectocervix during the menstrual cycle and virtually absent from the endocervix. In dysplastic cervical tissue there was a decreasing p29 content with increasing severity of the dysplasia, and very low levels were seen in the carcinomatous tissues.