Serum matrix metalloproteinase 3 in rheumatoid arthritis patients: Correlation with disease activity and joint destruction
Abstract Aim of the work This study was designed to measure the serum level of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP 3) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and its correlation with functional status, disease activity and joint damage. Patients and methods The study included 50 RA patients satisfying 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria recruited from Bani Suef University Hospital and 20 controls. Functional disability was assessed according to Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) Disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) and visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain were evaluated. Radiological joint damage was assessed by Van der Heijde modified Sharp Score (vdHSS) Serum levels of MMP 3 were measured for all subjects. Results RA patients (44 females and 6 males) had a mean age of 46.36 13.63 years and disease duration of 5.6 4.75 years. Serum MMP 3 levels were higher in patients than in controls (46.78 46.99 versus 1.98 1.71 ng/ml respectively, p 0.0001) and significantly correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p 0.001) and were significantly higher in patients with positive C reactive protein, rheumatoid factor and anti cyclic citrullinated peptide (p 0.0001, p 0.009, p 0.042, respectively) MMP 3 significantly correlated with DAS28 (p 0.0001) and vdHSS (r 0.78, p 0.0001) and a significant difference was shown in those with erosions compared to those without (p 0.001) Serum MMP 3 levels significantly correlated negatively with cumulative steroid dose (r 0.2, p 0.03) and were significantly higher in patients who never received disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (p 0.001) There were no significant relations of MMP 3 with age, MHAQ, VAS for pain. Conclusion These results indicate that serum MMP 3 is a measurable, useful specific marker of disease activity and joint damage in RA patients.