title: Aberrant connexin 43 and 26 expression in cervical dysplasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether connexin (Cx) expression is altered in cervical dysplasia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cx proteins form gap junctions and are expressed in squamous epithelia including ectocervix. We used multispectral imaging to perform a quantitative immunohistochemical survey of Cx43 Cx26 in 37 archival human cervical specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cx43 expression was very low in normal cervix (100%), but was increased in low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) (64%), primarily in a parabasal distribution. High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) showed weak full-thickness Cx43 staining (53%) or lacked Cx43 (47%). An aberrant increase in Cx43 expression was often (62%) present in histologically normal areas of specimens that elsewhere harbored dysplasia. Cx26 was highly expressed in the basal layer of normal ectocervix (100%). In LSIL, 57% showed a decrease in Cx26 and the rest showed no change relative to the normal pattern. In HSIL, Cx26 was expressed in the full thickness of the epithelium, at a high level in 80% of cases and a low level in the rest.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cx alteration is moderately consistent in cervical dysplasia, and for Cx43 can precede histologic changes. The resulting changes in Cx signaling may be important in the pathogenesis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
authors.affiliation: Section of Surgical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101, USA.
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Hagemann
authors.forename: Theresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Pasha
authors.forename: Shelley A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Sabrina W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Yum
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000072259:Connexin 26; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D017630:Connexins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43; D017630:Connexins; C000607042:GJB2 protein, human; D000072259:Connexin 26