Abstract

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in respiratory inflammatory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It was hypothesized that MMP-8 and MMP-9 may function as biological markers to assess disease severity in viral lower respiratory tract infections in children. MMP-8 and MMP-9 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and granulocytes obtained in both the acute and recovery phase from 153 children with mild, moderate, and severe viral lower respiratory tract infections were determined using real-time PCR. In addition, MMP-8 and MMP-9 concentrations in blood and nasopharyngeal specimens were determined during acute mild, moderate, and severe infection, and after recovery using ELISA. Furthermore, PBMCs and neutrophils obtained from healthy volunteers were stimulated with RSV, LPS (TLR4 agonist), and Pam3Cys (TLR2 agonist) in vitro. Disease severity of viral lower respiratory tract infections in children is associated with increased expression levels of the MMP-8 and MMP-9 genes in both PBMCs and granulocytes. On the contrary, in vitro experiments showed that MMP-8 and MMP-9 mRNA and protein expression in PBMCs and granulocytes is not induced by stimulation with RSV, the most frequent detected virus in young children with viral lower respiratory tract infections. These data indicate that expression levels of the MMP-8 and MMP-9 genes in both PBMCs and neutrophils are associated with viral lower respiratory tract infections disease severity. These observations justify future validation in independent prospective study cohorts of the usefulness of MMP-8 and MMP-9 as potential markers for disease severity in viral respiratory infections.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Brand KH, Ahout IM, de Groot R, Warris A, Ferwerda G, Hermans PW

Institution

Department of Pediatrics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Source

Journal of medical virology 84:9 2012 Sep pg 1471-80

MeSH

Female
Gene Expression
Granulocytes
HeLa Cells
Humans
Infant
Leukocytes, Mononuclear
Male
Matrix Metalloproteinase 8
Matrix Metalloproteinase 9
Nasal Mucosa
Neutrophils
Pharynx
Prospective Studies
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Respiratory Tract Infections
Severity of Illness Index
Statistics, Nonparametric

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22825827