Abnormal expression of integrin alpha 6 beta 4 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

We have used subunit-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and immunohistochemistry to examine the distribution of integrin alpha 6 beta 4 in normal ectocervical epithelium and various grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Antibodies were first characterised by immunoprecipitation from two surface-labelled tumour cell lines. Monoclonal antibody G71 was found to precipitate integrin beta 4 from surface-iodinated BeWo cells. Neither antibody recognised truncated beta 4 chains observed at approximately 160 kDa. These data suggest that different isoforms of beta 4 are expressed in different tumour cell lines, and that there may be a pool of beta 4 at the cell surface that is not complexed to alpha 6. In normal cervix, both the alpha 6 and beta 4 subunits occur at the basal surface of the basal cell layer. In CIN, the distribution is markedly altered, with strong expression of alpha 6 and beta 4 in the upper cell layers of the ectocervical epithelium. All 40 cases of CIN that were studied exhibited this alteration. Furthermore, the extent of extrabasal staining appeared to correspond with the grade of CIN. The form of integrin beta 4 recognised by antibody G71 also appears in the upper cell layers in CIN, but it shows a more restricted distribution than the normal isoform.