Expression And Significance Of APOBEC3B（A3B） In Cervical Lesions

Objective:To detect the expression of APOBEC3B protein in cervical exfoliated cells and cervical tissues of different lesion degrees.To comprehensively analyze the relationship between the expression of APOBEC3B protein in cervical exfoliated cells and cervical tissues of different lesion levels and the progression of cervical lesions at different levels.Methods:Cervical exfoliated cell specimens of 80 patients who underwent TCT examination and cervical tissue specimens of 80 patients who underwent pathological diagnosis after surgery were collected from Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Shanxi Bethune Hospital from November 2021 to December 2022.80 patients with cervical exfoliated cell specimens were divided into four groups according to the results of TCT examination:there were 20 cases of NILM(TBS naming system for negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy),20 cases of LSIL(TBS naming system for low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion),20 cases of HSIL(TBS naming system for high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion)and 20 cases of SCC(TBS naming system for squamous cell carcinoma).According to the pathological diagnosis after operation,80 patients with cervical tissue specimens were divided into four groups:there were 20 cases of normal cervical,20 cases of LSIL(low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion),20 cases of HSIL(high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion)and 20 cases of SCC(squamous cell carcinoma).Immunohistochemical staining was performed on the exfoliated cervical cell sections and cervical tissue sections to analyze the trend of APOBEC3B protein positive expression rate with the progression of cervical lesions.The consistency of APOBEC3B protein expression in cervical exfoliating cells and cervical tissues was compared.Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0 statistical software,and P<0.05 was statistically significant.Results:APOBEC3B protein in cervical exfoliated cell:The positive expression rates of APOBEC3B protein in NILM,LSIL,HSIL and SCC were 15.0%,50.0%,65.0%and95.0%,respectively.The positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in patients with SCC was significantly higher than that in patients of HSIL and LSIL.The positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in HSIL and LSIL patients was significantly higher than that in patients of NILM,while the positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in patients of NILM was the lowest(χ~2=26.971,P<0.001).The positive expression rate of APOBEC3B protein showed an increasing trend with the increasing severity of the grade of cervical exfoliated cell(χ~2trend=12.000,P trend=0.042,r=26.093).In addition,with the expression of APOBEC3B protein in NILM group as reference,the risk of LSIL in APOBEC3B positive patients was 5.667 times that in NILM group(95%CI:1.254-25.606),and the risk of HSIL and SCC was also significantly increased.APOBEC3B protein in cervical tissue:The positive expression rates of APOBEC3B protein in normal cervical tissue,LSIL,HSIL and SCC were 5.0%,40.0%,45.0%and75.0%,respectively.The positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in patients with SCC was significantly higher than that in patients of HSIL and LSIL.The positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in HSIL and LSIL patients was significantly higher than that in patients of normal cervical tissue,while the positive rate of APOBEC3B protein expression in patients of normal cervical tissue was the lowest(χ~2=20.374,P<0.001).The positive expression rate of APOBEC3B protein increased with the severity of cervical lesion(χ~2trend=2.809,P trend=0.032,r=18.836).In addition,with the expression of APOBEC3B protein in the normal cervical tissue group as the reference,the risk of LSIL in APOBEC3B positive patients was 12.667 times that in the normal cervical tissue group(95%CI:1.402-114.419),and the risk of HSIL and SCC was also significantly increased.Conclusion:In this study,it was found that the expression of APOBEC3B protein was positively correlated with the severity of cervical lesions,and APOBEC3B protein might be a biomarker for the early biological diagnosis of cervical cancer.