Clinical Usefulness of Plasma Activities of Gelatinase (Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and 9) in Chronic Liver Disease

Korean J Hepatol > Volume 9(3); 2003 > Article

The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2003;9(3): 222-230.

Clinical Usefulness of Plasma Activities of Gelatinase (Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and 9) in Chronic Liver Disease

Oh Sang Kwon, M.D., Do Yoon Lim, M.D., Kwang An Kwon, M.D., Moon Gi Chung, M.D., Dong Kyun Park, M.D., Sun Suk Kim, M.D., Yeon Suk Kim, M.D., So Young Kwon, M.D., Yang Suh Koo, M.D., Yu Kyung Kim, M.D., Duck Joo Choi, M.D., Ju Hyun Kim, M.D., You Jin Hwang, Ph.D.1, Kwan Soo Byun, M.D.2 and Chang Hong Lee, M.D.2

Department of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology1, Gachon Medical School, Inchon, Korea Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine2, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT

Background/Aims
Gelatinase (matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and 9) has an important role in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we evaluated the relationship of gelatinase to chromic liver disease. Methods: Four groups of subjects were examined; healthy control (10 cases), chronic hepatitis (18 cases), LC (15 cases), and HCC (28 cases). The plasma of each subject was obtained, and the equal quantification of plasma protein was done. The plasma activities of MMP-2 and 9 were measured by zymography. Results: The activities of plasma MMP-2 in patients with LC were significantly higher than those in controls (p=0.009) and in patients with chronic hepatitis (p=0.011), but not different from those in patients with HCC. The activities of plasma MMP-9 in patients with LC were significantly higher than those in controls, but not different from those in patients with chronic hepatitis or HCC. In patients with LC (regardless of having HCC), the activities of MMP-2 correlated with total bilirubin (r=0.323, p=0.048) and Child-Pugh score (r=0.414, p=0.012). The activities of MMP-2 and 9 were higher in patients with LC (regardless of having HCC) caused by alcohol than caused by HBV (p=0.009 and 0.002 for each one). Conclusions: The plasma activity of MMP-2 may be a useful marker for the diagnosis and determination of the severity of LC. The plasma activity of MMP-9 was not useful for HCC, but may be a marker for alcoholic LC. Further study is needed to determine why the plasma activity of gelatinase was higher in patients with LC caused by alcohol than by HBV.(Korean J Hepatol 2003;9:222-230)

KeyWords: MMP-2, MMP-9, Liver cirrhosis, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Zymography