Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Int J Biol Sci. 2013 Jun 12;9(6):557-63. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.6398. Print 2013.
Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most common form of congenital heart diseases. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases involved in causal cardiac tissue remodeling. We studied the changes of circulating MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities in the patients with VSD severity and closure. There were 96 children with perimembranous VSD enrolled in this study. We assigned the patients into three groups according to the ratio of VSD diameter/diameter of aortic root (Ao). They were classified as below: Trivial (VSD/Ao ratio ≤ 0.2), Small (0.2 < VSD/Ao ≤ 0.3) and Median (0.3 < VSD/Ao) group. Plasma MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities were assayed by gelatin zymography. There was a significant higher MMP-2 activity in the VSD (Trivial, Small and Median) groups compared with that in Control group. The plasma MMP-9 activity showed a similar trend as the findings in MMP-2 activity. After one year follow-up, a significant difference in the MMP-9 activity was found between VSD spontaneous closure and non-closure groups. In conclusion, a positive trend between the severity of VSD and activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was found. Our data imply that MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities may play a role in the pathogenesis of VSD.
室间隔缺损（VSD）是最常见的先天性心脏病形式。基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是一类锌依赖性内肽酶，参与因果性心肌组织重构。我们研究了 VSD 严重程度和闭合患者循环中 MMP-2 和 MMP-9 活性的变化。这项研究纳入了 96 名膜周部 VSD 患儿。根据 VSD 直径/主动脉根部直径（Ao）的比值，我们将患者分为三组：微小（VSD/Ao 比值≤0.2）、小（0.2＜VSD/Ao≤0.3）和中（0.3＜VSD/Ao）组。通过明胶酶谱法测定血浆 MMP-2 和 MMP-9 活性。与对照组相比，VSD（微小、小和中）组的 MMP-2 活性显著升高。MMP-9 活性也呈现出与 MMP-2 活性相似的趋势。在 1 年的随访中，发现 VSD 自发性闭合组和非闭合组之间 MMP-9 活性存在显著差异。总之，我们发现 VSD 的严重程度与 MMP-2 和 MMP-9 的活性之间存在正相关趋势。我们的数据表明，MMP-2 和 MMP-9 的活性可能在 VSD 的发病机制中发挥作用。
