Upregulation of integrin expression in benign vulvar warts

Benign anogenital warts demonstrate features both of hyperproliferation and of aberrant differentiation associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The expression of integrins has been examined in normal vulvar epithelium and benign vulvar warts to determine whether HPV infection is associated with changes in integrin expression, either during terminal differentiation or among the proliferating cell population. The expression of integrins in normal vulvar epithelium was similar to that seen in the epidermis, with little expression of alpha 1 and expression of alpha 2, alpha 3, and beta 1 at the periphery of basal cells. In vulvar wart epithelium, alpha 1 was not significantly expressed, but upregulation of alpha 2, alpha 3, and beta 1 was seen at the periphery of cells throughout the basal and spinous layers. In addition, alpha 2 staining was greater at foci along the basal layer of normal vulva, whilst such heterogeneity was not detected in wart sections. Expression of beta 4 and alpha V was confined to the basal and lateral aspects of normal basal cells, but expressed at the periphery of basal cells and to a lesser extent in epibasal and spinous layers of warts. The observed differences in integrin expression are consistent with those reported in other hyperproliferative epithelia.