Expression of the MCP-1 gene and the HPV 16 E6/E7 oncogenes in squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix uteri and metastases.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) plays an important role in the recruitment of monocytes in solid tumors. Previously, for cervical carcinoma cell lines an inverse correlation between the expression of the MCP-1 gene and the human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes E6/E7 was described. In this study paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from 25 squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix uteri were analyzed for the expression of the MCP-1 gene and the HPV 16 E6/E7 oncogenes by RNA/RNA in situ hybridization. Similar to in vitro analyses, in our material a negative correlation between the transcription of these genes in tumor cells could be demonstrated in 19/25 cases, whereas in 6 cases both MCP-1 gene and HPV oncogene transcription could be detected. Interestingly, the same results regarding MCP-1 gene and HPV oncogene expression were observed in the majority of corresponding metastases. On the other hand, in stromal cells MCP-1-specific transcripts could be detected in all cases. In most of them intra- and/or peritumoral macrophages were observed. Our findings support the hypothesis that HPV oncoproteins are negative regulators of MCP-1 transcription.