Objectives: To compare plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, MMP-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) between patients with knee osteoarthritis and normal subjects, to investigate whether the degree of knee joint involvement is related to those measurements, and to compare patients with and without generalized osteoarthritis.
Methods: Eighty-three women with knee osteoarthritis (OA patients) were studied. Plasma levels of MMP-3, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were measured by enzyme immunoassays. Knee and hand radiographs were taken of all patients. The joints of the knee and hand were graded from 0 to 4 according to Kellgren and Lawrence criteria. All OA patients were divided into a generalized OA (GOA) group (n = 37) and a knee OA (KOA) group (n = 46) according to Doherty's criteria. MMPs and TIMP were also measured in 19 normal subjects.
Results: Plasma levels of MMP-3 and TIMP-1 were significantly higher in OA patients than in normal subjects. In contrast, MMP-9 was lower in OA patients than in normal subjects. Plasma levels of MMP-3 and MMP-9 were not influenced by the grade of knee OA. TIMP-1 was influenced by the grade of knee OA. Plasma levels of MMP-3 were significantly elevated in GOA compared to KOA. In contrast, there were no significant differences in plasma levels of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 between GOA and KOA.
Conclusion: Since the plasma level of MMP-3 in GOA was higher than that in KOA patients, it may be a superior indicator for whole-joint degeneration.