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.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003896:Desmosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008679:Metaplasia; D008875:Middle Aged; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000648:ultrastructure*