Serum Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 as a Marker for the Assessment of Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Serum Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 as a Marker for
the Assessment of Severe Acute Pancreatitis

PING CHEN, YAOZONG YUAN, SHIWEN WANG,¹ LEHENG ZHAN¹ and JIAYU XU

Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China, and
¹Second Affiliated Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, P.R. China

Previous studies have shown that matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) degrades basement membrane components in inflammation, but the change of serum MMP-9 level in the progression of acute pancreatitis remains unclear. The aim of our study was to assess the value of MMP-9 as a prognostic marker in acute pancreatitis. The prospective study included 10 patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and 10 patients with mild acute pancreatitis. The study also enrolled 10 healthy individuals as control. The serum MMP-9 level, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) level and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score were measured at 1 hr and 48 hrs after admission. APACHEII scores and serum MMP-9, TNF-α and CRP levels were significantly increased in patients with SAP compared to those with mild acute pancreatitis and control subjects at 1 hr after admission p < 0.01). When the states of illness were improved, the levels of the above-mentioned markers were decreased in patients with SAP at 48 hrs after admission (1 hr vs 48 hrs, p < 0.01 or p < 0.05). Furthermore, significant positive correlation was found between serum MMP-9 level and serum TNF-α level, serum CRP level or APACHEII score in patients at 1 hr after admission (MMP-9/TNF-α , r = 0.956; MMP-9/CRP, r = 0.935; MMP-9/APACHE II score, r = 0.957; p < 0.01). These results suggest that MMP-9 is involved in the deterioration of SAP and serum MMP-9 level is a valuable assessment marker for the severity of SAP.

keywords —— matrix metalloproteinase-9; tumor necorsis factor α ; C-reactive protein; acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score; acute pancreatitis

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2006, 208, 261-266

Received July 13, 2005; revision accepted for publication January 19, 2006.
Correspondence: Yaozong Yuan, Ph.D., Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, 200025, P. R. China.

e-mail:yyz28@medmail.com.cn