Detection of human papillomavirus DNA in cervical lesions by in-situ DNA hybridization

Authors examined paraffin sections of 50 cervical specimens from 34 cases for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 6b, 11, 16, 18, 31 and 33 by in-situ hybridization using 35S-labelled HPV DNA probes. Specimens were classified according to the degree of dysplasia after histological examination. Viral nucleic acids were detected in 30 of 50 tissues (60%) in which 15 specimens had single, 10 double, 4 triple and 1 quadruple viral infections. In some cases, different viral nucleic acids were detected at separate sites in the same patient. Overall, no great variation in the frequency of each HPV was detected, but a pattern became apparent when the frequencies were compared with the grade of dysplasia. CIN II/III lesions contained one or more of the HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33 which are frequently associated with cervical carcinoma. In-situ hybridization offers sensitive means of investigating viral infection, gene expression and neoplastic transformation.