Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies directed against monomorphic determinants of Class I and Class II products of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and against leucocyte differentiation antigens were used in an indirect immunoperoxidase technique to compare their expression in normal and malignant disease of the ovary, cervix and endometrium. MHC Class I products, strongly expressed on normal ovarian epithelium, were uniformly absent from 7/8 ovarian carcinomas of varying histology. Lack of Class I expression was also a feature of 6/10 cervical carcinomas and of 4/8 endometrial carcinomas, in comparison with their respective normal tissues. Relative to normal tissue epithelium MHC Class II products, could be either lost or gained, the pattern of expression being either uniform or heterogeneous. Leucocytes were sparse in normal ovary but more numerous in cervix and endometrium. In tumours, with few exceptions, they were abundant, though usually confined to the stroma. T cells, largely of cytotoxic/suppressor (OKT8) phenotype, tended to predominate though in some tumours, particularly cervical carcinoma, large numbers of macrophages and to a lesser extent, B cells were sometimes detected. By contrast, leucocytes of natural killer (NK) phenotype were virtually non-existent in any tumour or normal tissue. The ingress of leucocytes into gynaecological neoplasms does not appear to be a random event and may be evoked by an immune response against tumour-associated antigens. However, the relationship between in situ mononuclear cell infiltration and MHC expression on epithelial tumour cells is complex and remains to be elucidated.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferguson, A., Moore, M. & Fox, H. Expression of MHC products and leucocyte differentiation antigens in gynaecological neoplasms: An immunohistological analysis of the tumour cells and infiltrating leucocytes. Br J Cancer 52, 551–563 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1985.227
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1985.227
This article is cited by
-
Immunotherapy in endometrial cancer: rationale, practice and perspectives
Biomarker Research (2021)
-
Infiltrating T-cell markers in cervical carcinogenesis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
British Journal of Cancer (2021)
-
CD8+ T lymphocytes are recruited to neoplastic cervix
Journal of Clinical Immunology (1995)
-
Anti-tumor antibody produced by human tumor-infiltrating and peripheral blood B lymphocytes
Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy (1994)
-
Immunohistological characteristics of the infiltrating lymphoid cells and expression of HLA class I and II antigens in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Virchows Archiv A Pathological Anatomy and Histopathology (1990)