Herpes simplex virus-specific antigens in exfoliated cervical cells from women with and without cervical anaplasia.

By the indirect immunofluorescence technique the presence of herpes simplex virus-specific antigens was investigated in cervical cells of 530 women with normal cervical epithelium, 175 with bland disorders, 52 with dysplasias, and 38 with invasive cervical carcinomas of the uterine cervix. Antigens were present in 9% of samples from women with normal cervical epithelium; they were present in 41% of the samples from women with bland disorders, 61% of those from dysplasia patients, and 94% of those from invasive carcinoma patients. The testing of 3 consecutive imprints of 68 antigen-positive and 232 antigen-negative women at 6-month intervals revealed that, in cervical cells, herpesvirus-specific antigens persisted throughout the 1-year period of the follow-up.