Tag Archives: matrix metalloproteinases

Study of matrix metalloproteinase activity in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis

R. R. Rahimova

Azerbaijan Medical University, Department of Biochemistry, Baku;
e-mail: r.rahimova10@yahoo.com

Received: 23 December 2021; Accepted: 01 July 2022

One of the most important pathogenetic mechanisms of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is the violation of immunological tolerance and the development of the autoimmune process, the markers of which are various biologically active substances, in particular, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) of the extracellular matrix (ECM). MMPs play a crucial role in the development of pathological processes in these diseases, contributing­ to matrix degradation due to imbalance between the activity of enzymes and their inhibitors. The aim of the work was to study the activity of key metalloproteinases and the level of α2-macroglobulin in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. The diagnosis of AIT was established based on the study of data on anamnesis, thyroid status, the results of ultrasound of TG, and the presence of antibodies to the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSH) in blood plasma. Patients were enrolled in 2 groups: group 1 – 74 patients with a manifest form of the disease; group 2 – 96 patients with a subclinical form of the disease. The study of matrix metalloprotein activity in the examined patients showed a statistically significant (P = 0.015) increase in MMP-3 and MMP-7 activity in patients with AIT compared to the corresponding parameters in persons of the control group. Thus, levels of MMP-3 and 7 were in the group of patients, respectively 56 (51.0; 59.0) and 4.6 (4.3; 5.2) ng/ml, in control 23.0 (16.0; 26.0) and 3.6 (3.4; 4.1) ng/ml, respectively.

Oxidative/antioxidant balance and matrix metalloproteinases level in the knee cartilage of rats under experimental osteoarthritis and probiotic administration

O. Korotkyi*, K. Dvorshchenko, L. Kot,
T. Vovk, M. Tymoshenko, L. Ostapchenko

ESC “Institute of Biology and Medicine”, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine;
*e-mail: korotkyi@gmail.com

Received: 28 June 2020; Accepted: 13 November 2020

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of the poly-strain probiotic on oxidative-antioxidant balance and the level of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in rat knee cartilage under experimental osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis was induced by a single injection of monoiodoacetate into the knee joint of rats. Probiotic was administered daily for 14 days. Knee cartilages homogenate was used to evaluate  the content of reactive oxygen species (superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide), products of lipids peroxidation (diene conjugates, TBA-active compound, Shiff bases), to determine superoxide dismutase and catalase activity and activity of glutathione-dependent  antioxidant enzymes, the level of reduced and oxidized glutathione. The level of MMPs -1, -2, -3, -8 expression was estimated by ELISA. Osteoarthritis was found to cause a significant increase in the reactive oxygen species level, lipid peroxidation products content, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, level of all studied MMPs, and also depletion of glutathione-dependent antioxidant system and the decrease in the ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione.The administration of the probiotic was followed by the tendency for the restoration of the parameters to the values of the control group. Thus, the administration of the probiotic to rats with osteoarthritis may be considered as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent for further clinical trials.

Plasminogen and angiostatin levels in female benign breast lesions

A. A. Tykhomyrov1, I. L. Vovchuk2, T. V. Grinenko1

1Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
2Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University, Ukraine;
e-mail: artem_tykhomyrov@ukr.net

It is known that benign breast tissue exhibit relatively low angiogenic capacity. Activation of angiogenesis in mammary pre-malignant lesions could be associated with disease progression and high risk of transformation into the breast cancer. However, insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in angiogenesis regulation in non-cancerous breast pathologies is still poorly defined. The purpose of the present study was to determine levels of plasminogen and its proteolytic fragments (angiostatins) in mammary dysplasia (mastopathy and breast cyst) and benign neoplasms (fibroadenomas). Plasminogen and angiostatins were analyzed using immunoblotting and quantified by densitometric scanning. The significant increase in plasminogen levels was found in fibrocystic, cysts, and non-proliferatious fibroadenoma masses (4.7-, 3.7-, and 3.5-fold, respectively) compared to healthy breast tissues (control). In the same benign lesions, 6.7-, 4-, and 3.7-fold increase in plasminogen 50 kDa fragment (angiostatin) levels as compared with control were also observed. Activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9, which was detected using gelatine zymography, could be responsible for plasminogen cleavage and abundance of angiostatin in fibrocystic and cyst masses. In contrast, dramatic decrease of both plasminogen and angiostatin levels (3.8- and 5.3-folds, respectively) was shown in tissues of proliferatious form of fibroadenoma in comparison with that of the dormant type of this neoplasm. Based on the obtained results, we concluded that angiostatin, a potent vessel growth inhibitor and anti-inflammatory molecule, can play a crucial role in pathophysiology of non-cancerous breast diseases. Further studies are needed to evaluate potential diagnostic and clinical implications of these proteins for prediction and therapy of benign breast pathologies.