Expression of Cytokeratin No. 8 in Cervical Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions with Human Papilloma Virus Infection

The objective of this study is to confirm the relationship between expression of cytokeratin no. 8 (CK8) and types of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL).Expression of CK8, and types of HPV DNA as 6/11, 16/18 and 31/33/51 were investigated in normal and SIL tissues by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques.CK8 positive staining was detected in 68 (51.9%) out of 131 tissues of HPV DNA positive (p<0.01). The located patterns of CK8 were A-type (only basal layer), B-type (basal to intermediate layers), and C-type (all layers). In 54 tissues of HPV 16/18 types, there were 20 (37%) tissues that showed C-type (p<0.001). In HPV 6/11 and 31/33/51 types, CK8 positive staining was mostly shown in A-type. The malignant transformed tissues were detected as HPV 16/18 types and CK8 C-type.HPV 16/18 types promote expression of CK8. Tissues expressed as C-type with HPV 16/18 types signify abnormal cytodifferenciation and are probably real pre-malignant lesions. The detection of CK8 and HPV DNA types are useful for prediction of malignant transformation.