Elevated serum matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 and their correlations with severity of disease in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

BACKGROUND/AIM To determine the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their relationship with the clinical course of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-two consecutively hospitalized patients with CAP were enrolled and their pneumonia severity index (PSI), time to clinical stability (TCS), treatment response, and complications were recorded. The pre- and posttreatment serum concentrations of MMPs and their inhibitors were analyzed by ELISA. The activities of MMPs were evaluated by gelatin zymography. RESULTS MMP-2 and -9 serum levels and their activities were higher in CAP patients than controls (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Low-risk patients had lower levels of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 than high-risk patients (P = 0.044, P = 0.001, respectively). Pretreatment serum TIMP-1 level was higher in patients with TCS of >3 days (P = 0.004) and was correlated with oxygenation and PSI scores. Posttreatment serum levels of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were decreased after antibiotics (P = 0.000 1 and P = 0.0 17, respectively). CONCLUSION Although MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 correlate with many poor prognostic factors, more studies are required to prove their possible role in predicting the severity of CAP.