Exp Dermatol. 2011 Sep;20(9):770-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2011.01321.x. Epub 2011 Jun 26.
Fibrosis is characterized by an excessive accumulation of connective tissue because of an imbalance between synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix proteins. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a prototypic chronic inflammatory disease leading to a severe fibrosis of the skin and many internal organs. QUESTIONS ADDRESSED: We investigated whether serum MMP-7 levels reflect the activity of the fibrotic reaction in systemic sclerosis.
Serum samples were obtained from 123 patients with systemic sclerosis. MMP-serum levels of all patients with SSc were compared with age-matched healthy controls.
Significantly increased median serum MMP-7 levels were found in patients with SSc when compared with controls. The median MMP-7 serum level of patients with lung fibrosis (LF) was significantly higher compared with those without LF. Accordingly, patients with dyspnea and DLCO (diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide) levels below 60% showed significantly higher median MMP-7 levels.
Elevated MMP-7 levels are associated with an advanced stage of SSc and LF. These data suggest that in SSc MMP-7 is involved in the process of fibrotic tissue remodelling.
纤维化的特征是由于细胞外基质蛋白的合成和降解之间的失衡而导致的结缔组织过度积累。系统性硬化症（SSc）是一种典型的慢性炎症性疾病，导致皮肤和许多内部器官严重纤维化。
我们研究了血清 MMP-7 水平是否反映系统性硬化症纤维化反应的活性。
从 123 例系统性硬化症患者中获得血清样本。将所有 SSc 患者的 MMP-血清水平与年龄匹配的健康对照组进行比较。
与对照组相比，SSc 患者的血清 MMP-7 水平明显升高。有肺纤维化（LF）的患者的血清 MMP-7 水平明显高于无 LF 的患者。因此，呼吸困难和 DLCO（一氧化碳扩散能力）水平低于 60%的患者的 MMP-7 水平明显升高。
升高的 MMP-7 水平与 SSc 和 LF 的晚期阶段相关。这些数据表明，在 SSc 中，MMP-7 参与了纤维化组织重塑的过程。
