Desmosomes and gap-junctions in various epidermoid preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the cervix uteri.

The distribution of desmosomes and of gap-junctions was studied by morphometric means, at the electron microscopic level, in the following lesions of the uterine cervix: metaplasia, moderate and severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and invasive epidermoid carcinoma. The results were compared with normal exocervical epithelium. The proportion of the cell surface occupied by gap-junctions was decreased in all lesions; gap-junctions were statistically absent from moderate dysplasia and more advanced lesions. The number of desmosomes decreased gradually from metaplasia to invasive carcinoma, with each stage forming a discrete group. This gradual loss of intercellular structures with increasing degrees of malignancy might express dedifferentiation and could be associated with increasing cellular autonomy.