ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Nephrology
This article is part of the Research TopicMolecular Characterisation of Autoimmune DiseasesView all 13 articles
Serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels and enzymatic activity in patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane disease
Provisionally accepted
- 1Peking University First Hospital, Bejing, China
- 2Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
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Abstract Background: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease is an autoimmune disorder with autoantibodies against GBM component, noncollagenous domain of the α3 chain of type IV collagen, α3(IV)NC1. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an endogenous enzyme for the degradation of GBM to produce α3(IV)NC1. The current study was aimed to investigate the serum level and activity of MMP-9 and its clinical significance in patients with anti-GBM disease. Methods: MMP-9 serum levels and enzymatic activity were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 77 patients with anti-GBM disease and 20 healthy individuals. The association of MMP-9 levels and enzymatic activity with clinical-pathological features of patients was analyzed. Results: MMP-9 levels and enzymatic activity were elevated in 53.2% (41/77) and 61.0% (47/77) of patients with anti-GBM disease, and in 0% (0/20) and 10% (2/20) of healthy individuals (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). MMP-9 enzymatic activity was negatively correlated with serum creatinine (r = -0.247, P = 0.030) and positively correlated with eGFR (r = 0.232, P = 0.043). It was higher in the patients with prodromal infection [512.8 (286.0-682.8) vs. 307.2 (203.2-487.0) ng/mL, P = 0.037]. Patients with combined ANCA positivity had a significantly weaker MMP-9 enzymatic activity than that of patients with only anti-GBM antibodies positivity [241.0 (192.3-431.9) vs. 444.5 (255.2-659.5) ng/mL, P = 0.035)]. Univariate regression analysis suggested that neither MMP-9 levels nor enzymatic activity was a risk factor for kidney outcomes in patients with anti-GBM disease. Conclusion: The serum MMP-9 levels and enzymatic activity were elevated in patients with anti-GBM disease. The association between MMP-9 activity and clinical-pathological features indicated that MMP-9 might play different roles in disease development.
Keywords: Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease, serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), Goodpasture antigen, clinical-pathological features, α3(IV)NC1
Received: 18 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kuang, Wan, Gu, Jia, Cui and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huang Kuang, kuanghuang@bjmu.edu.cn
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