title: Elevated levels of MMP-9 in untreated patients with stage I essential hypertension.
abstract: Increased expression and activity of metalloproteinases have been implicated in the pathophysiology of vascular remodeling and in the growth of atherosclerotic lesions. We aimed at determining the levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, their specific inhibitors TIMP-2 and TIMP-1, and the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α, which are related to the stimulation of MMPs, in patients with untreated mild essential hypertension (UH) and normotensive (NT) volunteers. Serum MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels were significantly different in UH volunteers when compared to NT volunteers. Thus, MMP-9 is elevated in the early stages of essential hypertension and may be used as a marker of cardiovascular risk and vascular dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Second Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokrateion Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. eugalant@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gkaliagkousi
authors.forename: Michail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doumas
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gavriilaki
authors.forename: Areti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Triantafyllou
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vogiatzis
authors.forename: Panagiota
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anyfanti
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petidis
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Douma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000097:blood*; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000097:blood; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 / Q000097:blood; D019716:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; C560822:TIMP1 protein, human; C560823:TIMP2 protein, human; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D019716:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9