Increased pro-MMP9 plasma levels are associated with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and with the risk allele of rs142450006 near MMP9.
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients compared to controls, and to explore the potential effect of AMD-associated genetic variants on MMP9 and TIMP3 protein levels. Methods: Plasma total MMP9, active MMP9 and TIMP3 levels were measured using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between nAMD patients and controls, as well as between different genotype groups. Results: nAMD patients had significantly higher total MMP9 levels compared to controls (median 46.58 versus 26.90 ng/ml; p = 0.0004). In addition, the median MMP9 level in the homozygous genotype group for the AMD-risk allele (44.23 ng/ml) was significantly higher than the median for the heterozygous genotype group (26.90 ng/ml; p = 0.0082) and the median for the homozygous group for the non-risk allele (28.55 ng/ml; p = 0.0355). No differences were detected for the active MMP9. TIMP3 levels did not significantly differ between the AMD and control groups, nor between the different genotype groups for rs5754227. Conclusions: . This finding might be an interesting starting point for further exploration of MMP9 as a therapeutic target in nAMD, particularly among individuals carrying the risk-conferring allele rs142450006.
Source: PubMed
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3159031592