Immunoperoxidase demonstration of human papilloma virus (HPV) in dysplastic lesions of the uterine cervix.

Routinely processed sections of 47 unselected cervical dysplasias and in situ carcinomas (both condylomatous, CO, and noncondylomatous, NCO) were subjected to staining with indirect immunoperoxidase-PAP technique using anti-human papilloma virus (anti-HPV) immune serum to demonstrate HPV antigens in these lesions. Anti-HPV was raised in guinea pigs immunized with highly purified virions from a pool of human skin wart tissues. Positive reactivity for HPV (brown intranuclear precipitates) was disclosed in 72% of the CO dysplasias and in only one case (5.6%) of the NCO group. The frequency of HPV-positive lesions was inversely related to the degree of epithelial dysplasia, being consistent with the disappearance of ultrastructurally detectable virus particles in lesions turned malignant. HPV-containing cells were characteristic koilocytes or dyskeratotic superficial cells. The present technique provides definite evidence for the HPV etiology of the flat, inverted, and papillomatous condylomas, and seems to offer an advantage as a diagnostic tool of these lesions. When applied to malignant tumors in the near future, the method will undoubtedly bring more light on the suggested role of HPV in the etiology of human squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix and other sites as well.