Immunohistochemical staining of Langerhans cells in HPV-positive and HPV-negative cases of oral squamous cells carcinoma

Abstract

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been strongly implicated in development of some cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the immunological system somehow reacts against the presence of this virus. Among the cells involved in such mechanism of defense Langerhans cells (LC) stand out, which are responsible for processing and presenting antigens.ObjectivesThe purposes of this study were to investigate the presence of HPV DNA and to evaluate the immunohistochemical reactivity for Langerhans cells between HPV-positive and HPV-negative OSCC. Twenty-seven cases of OSSC were evaluated. Material and MethodsDNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue samples and amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for the detection of HPV DNA. Viral typing was performed by dot blot hybridization. Immunohistochemistry was performed by the Streptavidin-biotin technique. ResultsFrom the 27 cases, 9 (33.3%) were HPV-positive and 18 (66.0%) HPV-negative. HPV 18 was the most prevalent viral type (100% cases) and infection with HPV-16 (co-infection) was detected in only 1 case. In the OSCC specimens examined, immunoreactivity to S-100 antibody was detected in all cases, with a mean number of 49.48±30.89 Langerhans cells positive for immunostaining. The mean number of immunostained Langerhans cells was smaller in the HPV-positive cases (38 cells/case) than in the HPV-negative cases (42.5 cells/case), but this difference was not significant (p=0.38). ConclusionsThe low frequency of detection of HPV DNA in OSCC indicates a possible participation of the virus in the development and progression of only a subgroup of these tumors. There was no association between the immunohistochemical labeling for Langerhans cells (S-100+) and HPV infection of in OSSC. These findings suggest that the presence of HPV in such OSCC cases could not alter the immunological system, particularly the Langerhans cells.

Prevalence of oral and oropharyngeal human papillomavirus infection in Brazilian population studies: a systematic review

“…Lira (2010) 25 Mean of 65 y ------49/26 Oliveira (2008) 26 Mean of 59 y 81.6% ---73/14 Simonato (2008) 27 79.3% under 60 y 89.7% 62.1% 27/2 Soares (2008) 28 Mean of 65 y ---------Oliveira (2009) 29 59% over 60 y ------57/31 Pereira (2011) 30 Mean of 63 y ------19/8 Spindula-Filho (2011) 31 55.3% over 65 y 72.3% 61.7% 34/13 Cordeiro-Silva (2012) 32 44.5% over 58 y 80.0% 68.9% 35/10 Kaminagakura (2012) 33 Mean of 51 y 84.0% 62.0% 81/33 Marques-Silva (2012) 34 33 38 Mean of 45 y ------21/43 Ribeiro (2014) 39 Mean of 32 y 27.4% ---31/31 Vidotti (2014) 40 42 Mean of 29 y ------30/0 Peixoto (2011) 43 Mean of 37 70 3 (4.3%) ---------Sacramento (2006) 6 50 7 (14.0%) 1 (2.0%) 1 (2.0%) 2 (4.0%) Silva (2007) 16 10 1 (10.0%) ---------Esquenazi (2010) 7 100 0 (0.0%) ---------Horewicz (2010) 8 104 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) ------Araujo (2011) 45 16 1 (6.2%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) Betiol (2012) 13 22 16 16 (100.0%) ---------Mazon (2011) 17 18 6 (33.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) Fregonezi (2012) 23 Oral/oropharyngeal HPV infection in patients with oral or oropharyngeal SCC Miguel (1998) 24 28 4 (14.3%) ---------Soares (2002) 18 10 0 (0.0%) ---------Soares (2003) 19 27 13 (48.1%) ------10 (37.0%) Fregonesi (2003) 20 17 6 (35.3%) ------5 (29.0%) Cortezzi (2004) 15 16 4 (25.0%) 4 (25.0%) ------Silva (2007) 16 50 37 (74.0%) ---------Soares (2007) 27 29 5 (17.2%) --------...…”

Prognosis of HPV-positive head and neck cancers: implication of smoking and immunosuppression

“…HPV-positive tumors displayed decreased numbers of Langerhans cells compared with HPV-negative tumors. However, this difference was not statistically significant (54). Several studies showed an increase in the number of CTL as well as the CTL/Treg (regulatory T cells) ratio in HPV-positive patients compared with HPV-negative patients.…”

The molecular fingerprint of human papillomavirus infection and its effect on the Langerhans cell population in squamous cell carcinomas of the genital skin

“…[23] McArdle, et al found an increase in LC density in cases with CIN when compared with normal ectocervix. [34] The fact that HPV infection did not cause a reduction in LC density in our study could be attributed to the small number of cases available to study.…”

“…Several studies have linked HPV infection of mucosal and skin epithelial cells with a reduction in the number of LC in these tissues. [3,[20][21][22][23][24][25] Langerhans cells are dendritic cells that play a key role in immune surveillance because they are the most potent epidermal antigen-presenting cells. LC are found on a regular basis in the epithelial layers of normal skin and mucous membranes.…”