Matrix metalloproteinase-3 levels in relation to disease activity and radiological progression in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Background. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory and systemic disease of unknown etiology that primarily affects synovial joints and involves progressive destruction around the joints. Inflammation starting in the joint synovium causes the destruction of cartilage, bone and other adjacent tissues with pannus formation. Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) levels and their clinical and radiological significance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Material and methods. The study included 59 patients with RA and 30 healthy controls. Serum MMP-3 levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Patients with a Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) ≤3.2 were categorized as having lower disease activity, while a DAS28 score >3.2 indicated patients with moderate/high disease activity. Additionally, the patients were divided into 2 groups in terms of disease duration: early RA (disease duration ≤2 years) and established RA (disease duration ≥2 years). Functional disability was evaluated using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Radiographs were scored using modified Larsen scoring. Results. Serum MMP-3 levels in patients with RA were significantly higher than in controls (p = 0.001). Serum MMP-3 levels were correlated with laboratory and clinical parameters of disease activity, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), DAS28, and HAQ score; the exceptions were rheumatoid factor (RF) and cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCP). The serum MMP-3 levels of RA patients with moderate/high disease activity were found to be significantly higher than those of the patients with low disease activity (p < 0.001). However, MMP-3 levels were found to be similar in both established and early RA patients (p = 0.927). Additionally, the modified Larsen scores, which indicate structural damage, correlated significantly with serum MMP-3 levels (p = 0.001). Conclusions. These results indicate that serum MMP-3 levels may be used as an indicator for structural damage such as erosions in the early stages of the disease, and to monitor disease activity.

Angiotensin AT2 Receptor Stimulation Alleviates Collagen-Induced Arthritis by Upregulation of Regulatory T Cell Numbers

“…In RA and experimental arthritis, the family of MMPs plays not only an important role in the proteolytic cleavage of articular cartilage but also of the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) of the synovial joints (43). MMP-3 is known to degrade CII, the predominant form of collagen in articular cartilage (44), whereby MMP-3 concentrations are elevated in serum of humans and mice with active arthritis (45,46). In our CIA experiments, there was a trend towards lower MMP-3 serum concentrations at day 47 in the etanercept group compared to the PBS group and the difference was statistically significant when comparing the etanercept group with the C21 group.…”

Functional Impairment and Periodontitis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) is a proteolytic enzyme induced by inflammatory cytokines and is used as a serum indicator of RA activity; it plays a central role in progressive joint destruction in RA and thus is attracting attention as a marker for predicting joint destruction. 10 , 11 Tuncer et al 12 reported significantly higher MMP-3 levels in patients with RA with high DASs. Furthermore, MMP-3 levels increase with Steinbrocker stage and class, indicating RA severity.…”

bFGF could be a Biomarker of Malignancy in RS3PE Syndrome: an Ambispective Single Center Cohort Analysis of 51 Patients

“…But later ndings indicated that elevated levels of VEGF were also characteristics of infections and organizing pneumonia in RS 3 PE [9,10] . MMP-3 was elevated in RS 3 PE patients with solid malignancy [11] , but it was also an indicator for active arthritis [12] . It still remains elusive whether there is a speci c biomarker for identifying arthritis with malignancy.…”