ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Evaluation of changes in plasma levels of MMP-8, MMP-13, and Thrombospondin 2 in Patients with Osgood–Schlatter Disease (OSD)
Provisionally accepted
Monika Kulesza1*
Tomasz Guszczyn2
Aleksandra Kicman3
Rafał Marecki3Michał Stanisław Kicman4Sławomir Ławicki1- 1Department of Population Medicine and Lifestyle Diseases Prevention, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
- 2Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Bialymstoku, Bialystok, Poland
- 3Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
- 4Uniwersytet Medyczny w Bialymstoku, Bialystok, Poland
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Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) is characterized by its relatively frequent occurrence and unknown pathomechanism. It mainly affects young athletes. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may be involved in the pathogenesis, while Thrombospondin 2 is involved in healing process. Purpose of this study was to determine changes in MMP-8, MMP-13 and Thrombospondin 2 levels in patients with OSD compared to control group (CG). The study was conducted on 140 patients with OSD (age range: 11-15), CG consisted of 100 individuals with minor hand injuries (age range: 12-15). Levels of MMPs and Thrombospondin 2 were determined in plasma using an immunoenzymatic method (ELISA). Concentrations of MMP-13 (median: 496.5ng/mL; p<0.0001) and Thrombospondin 2 (median: 21.05pg/mL; p<0.0001) were higher in patients with OSD, while MMP-8 values (median: 26.60ng/mL; p<0.001) were lower in patients with OSD compared to CG (58.08 ng/ml; 14.43 pg/mL; 95.91 ng/mL; respectively). Significant correlations were found between the parameters studied, and the highest AUC (area under curve) was obtained for MMP-13 in the OSD group. The studied compounds have potential as additional tests to distinguish OSD from other diseases, and MMP-13 may be involved in the pathogenesis of OSD.
Keywords: Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD), Matrix Metalloproteinases, MMP-8, Mmp-13, Thrombospondin 2, Plasma
Received: 11 Sep 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kulesza, Guszczyn, Kicman, Marecki, Kicman and Ławicki. 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: Monika Kulesza
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