Catalase-associated abnormalities and H2O2 increase in pre-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the human lower female genital tract and their near adjacent epithelia.

We report that an internal and non-UV-dependent type of neoplasia, the human cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (SIL), is also deficient in catalase activity, like the UV-induced tumors in the autosomal recessive human epithelial disease, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). Whether or not the lesions are papillomavirus (HPV) positive in the different categories of preneoplastic and neoplastic extracts, the following parameters are affected: i), catalase activity level; ii), kinetic profile of catalase activity; iii), H2O2 increase. Mathematical treatment of these parameters (CONSTEL-Program), unambiguously distinguishes between normal and pathological cases. Such analyses make it possible to grade the pathological samples into 4 classes, depending on their deviance from normality. These classes may be correlated with the gradual steps in the process of malignant transformation defined by histological and clinical diagnosis. We found conformity between catalase activity and histological analyses in 66 biopsies, out of a total of 100 biopsies (35 patients). Moreover, 23 patients presenting decreased catalase activities in 31 biopsies showed disease progression after 3 to 6 months contrary to surgery histological data. We show that ATP synthesis in the presence of catalase and H2O2 (further aspect of catalase function), may occur in neoplastic extracts at much lower concentrations of H2O2 than in normal extracts. Thus, the catalase abnormality seems to be a good tool to study pre-neoplastic to neoplastic evolution of lesions and their adjacent tissues of the lower female genital tract; furthermore, i) it provides an earlier, more powerful means of detecting micro-SIL in progression to squamous cell carcinoma, than combined clinical and histological examinations; ii) model for investigating drugs such as in situ H2O2 scavengers or agents increasing glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH).