Examination of the Surface of Erythrocytes of Patients with Cervical Cancer by Immunofluorescence Analysis

Abstract

The number of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer continues to increase all over the world. Despite the intensive development of diagnostic and therapy methods, the phenomenon of relapses in the absence of a clear explanation for their occurrence, and of metastasis are observed, which complicates treatment and affects the survival of patients. In this regard, there is a need to develop new research methods for a more detailed study of the occurrence and development of the disease at the molecular and cellular levels, as well as the effectiveness of treatment and the causes of relapses. In this paper, nanoparticles are studied on the surface of red blood cells, which were revealed by the authors using scanning electron microscopy previously, and results of the study of blood samples of patients with cervical cancer using a new sample preparation method and immunofluorescence analysis for their identification are presented on the basis of the assumption that these nanoparticles are viral particles. With the combination of immunofluorescence and electron microscopy methods, we were able to confirm our hypothesis of the viral nature of nanoparticles attached to the surface of red blood cells of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer. With this approach, it was found that the particles of human papillomavirus 16 and 18 are located on the cytoplasmic membrane of red blood cells. The results of this study indicate that viruses circulate in the patient's blood, and are attached to the surface of red blood cells. This apparently affects the development of cervical cancer, its relapse, and metastasis.