Department of Ophthalmology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Immunology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran; Immunoregulation Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2019 Dec;77:105812. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2019.105812. Epub 2019 Oct 31.
Sulfur mustard (SM) intoxication produces local and systemic changes in the human body. In this study, the relationship between tear and serum matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and serum tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are assessed in serious eye-injured SM-exposed casualties.
A group of 128 SM-exposed patients with serious ocular injuries in three subgroups (19 mild, 31 moderate, and 78 severe cases) is compared with 31 healthy controls. Tear and ocular status and serum MMPs and MMP-9/TIMPs complex levels were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Serum level of MMP-9 was significantly higher in the SM-exposed group compared to the control group (P = 0.009). Mean serum MMP-9 level in the SM-exposed group with ocular abnormalities was significantly higher than that in the SM-exposed group without ocular abnormalities. SM-exposed people with corneal calcification had significantly higher serum MMP-9/TIMP-1 level compared to the SM-exposed ones without this problem (P = 0.045). The SM-exposed group with severe ocular injuries had significantly higher MMP-9/TIMP-1 than the controls (P = 0.046). The SM-exposed group had significantly lower levels of MMP-9/TIMP-4 complex than the controls (P < 0.001). The SM-exposed group with tear meniscus and fundus abnormality had significantly higher MMP-9/TIMP-4 levels than the SM-exposed group without these problems (P = 0.009 and P = 0.020).
Serum MMP-9 level had increased in SM-exposed groups with ocular problems, while TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 levels had remained unchanged. Serum TIMP-4 drastically decreased in SM-exposed group, which clearly explains the severity of the systemic and ocular damages.
芥子气（SM）中毒会导致人体局部和全身发生变化。在这项研究中，评估了严重眼部受伤的 SM 暴露伤员的泪液和血清基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）-9 与血清组织抑制剂金属蛋白酶（TIMP）之间的关系。
将 128 名眼部严重受伤的 SM 暴露患者分为三组（19 例轻度、31 例中度和 78 例重度），并与 31 名健康对照进行比较。使用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）评估泪液和眼部状况以及血清 MMP 和 MMP-9/TIMP 复合物水平。
与对照组相比，SM 暴露组血清 MMP-9 水平明显升高（P=0.009）。SM 暴露组眼部异常患者的血清 MMP-9 水平明显高于无眼部异常患者。角膜钙化的 SM 暴露者的血清 MMP-9/TIMP-1 水平明显高于无此问题的 SM 暴露者（P=0.045）。严重眼部损伤的 SM 暴露者的 MMP-9/TIMP-1 水平明显高于对照组（P=0.046）。SM 暴露组的 MMP-9/TIMP-4 复合物水平明显低于对照组（P<0.001）。泪膜和眼底异常的 SM 暴露者的 MMP-9/TIMP-4 水平明显高于无这些问题的 SM 暴露者（P=0.009 和 P=0.020）。
眼部有问题的 SM 暴露组血清 MMP-9 水平升高，而 TIMP-1 和 TIMP-2 水平保持不变。SM 暴露组血清 TIMP-4 水平急剧下降，这清楚地解释了全身和眼部损伤的严重程度。
