Expression And Clinical Correlation Of Serum MMP-2,MMP-3,MMP-7 And MMP-9 In Patients With Connective Tissue Disease And Interstitial Lung Disease

Objective: To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs)in serum of patients with connective tissue diseases(CTD)complicated with interstitial lung disease(ILD)and its correlation with disease activity.To analyze the changes of lymphocyte subsets expression in peripheral blood of CTD-ILD patients and explore the potential correlation between the changes of lymphocyte subsets and the progress of CTD-ILD.Method:(1)100 patients with connective tissue diseases(CTD group),80 patients with connective tissue diseases complicated with pulmonary interstitial lesions(CTD-ILD group)and 80 healthy people(normal group)admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities from October 2019 to October2020 were selected as research objects.(2)The serum levels of MMP-2,MMP-3,MMP-7 and MMP-9 of the three groups were analyzed by clinical data collected.(3)The expression of serum C-reactive protein(CRP),erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),rheumatoid factor(RF),immunoglobulin A(Ig A),immunoglobulin G(Ig G),immunoglobulin M(Ig M)and complement(C3,C4)in CTD-ILD group were detected clinically.(4)To analyze the correlation between MMPs level in serum and forced expiratory volume in the first second(FEV1),FEV1/FVC and FVC.(5)The expression level of lymphocyte markers CD3/ CD16+56/ CD45/ CD4/ CD19/ CD8 in peripheral blood of CTD-ILD patients was detected by flow cytometry.Results:(1)The serum levels of MMP-3,MMP-7 and MMP-9 in ctd-ild group were significantly higher than those in CTD group and normal group(P < 0.05),while the expression of MMP-2 in ctd-ild group was significantly lower than that in CTD group and normal group(P < 0.05).(2)The serum levels of MMP-2,MMP-3,MMP-7 and MMP-9 in CTD group were significantly higher than those in normal group(P <0.05).(3)In ctd-ild group,the expression of MMP-7 was positively correlated with CRP,ESR and RF(P < 0.05),and negatively correlated with Ig G and C3(P < 0.05),while the levels of MMP-2,MMP-7and MMP-9 were not significantly correlated with CRP,ESR,RF,Ig A,Ig G and Ig M(P > 0.05).(4)The expression of MMP-7 was positively correlated with FEV1%,FEV1 / FVC and FVC(P < 0.05),while the expression of MMP-2,MMP-7 and MMP-9 was not correlated with FEV1%,FEV1 /FVC and FVC(P > 0.05).(5)There was no significant difference in the expression of CD3 / CD16 + 56 / CD45 / CD4 / CD19 / CD8 labeled lymphocytes among the three groups(P > 0.05).(6)Pearson statistical analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the expression of MMP-7 and the percentage of B cells in the serum of ctd-ild patients(P < 0.05).Conclusions: The expression levels of MMP-3,MMP-7 and MMP-9 in serum of patients with connective tissue diseases and pulmonary interstitial diseases were significantly increased.The increased level of MMP-7 suggested pulmonary active diseases,which may be used as biomarkers for early diagnosis and evaluation of disease progression.