Background. Chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD) and systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) frequently coexists in areas where Chagas disease is endemic. The effects of the association of both conditions (CCHD-SAH) on the extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling are unknown. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 are involved in ECM remodeling. The aim of this study was to evaluate MMP 2 and MMP9 in CCHD-SAH patients and to correlate their levels with those of the profibrogenic cytokine TGF-beta. Methods. We included 19 patients with CCHD-SAH, 14 patients with CCHD alone, and 19 controls matched by sex and age. MMP-2 and MMP-9 plasma levels were studied by gel zymography and showed as optical densities (OD). TGF-beta plasma levels were measured by double-ligand ELISA and expressed as pg/mL. Results. Median (5^th, 95^th) MMP-2 plasma levels were 1224.7 OD (1160, 1433.5) in patients with CCHD alone, 1424.1 OD (1267.5, 1561) in patients with CCHD-SAH, and 940 OD (898.1, 1000.8) in controls (). MMP-9 plasma levels were 1870 OD (1740, 1904.1) in patients with CCHD alone, 1754.6 OD (1650, 2049) in those with CCHD-SAH and 89.7 OD (80, 96) in controls (). MMP-9 plasma levels were higher than those of MMP 2 in patients with CCHD-SAH (). No correlation was found between TGF-beta plasma levels with MMP-2 serum levels (r = 0.12; ), but a moderate negative correlation (r = −0.46; ) was observed between TGF-beta and MMP-9 plasma levels. Conclusions. MMP-2 and especially MMP-9 may play a role in the ECM remodeling process in patients with CCHD-SAH. TGF-Beta may counteract the MMP effect on the ECM remodeling process in patients with CCHD-SAH.

中文翻译：

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慢性恰加斯心脏病和全身性动脉高血压患者基质金属蛋白酶 2 和 9 的血浆水平：与 TGF-β 血浆水平的相关性

背景。在恰加斯病流行的地区，慢性恰加斯心脏病 (CCHD) 和全身性动脉高血压 (SAH) 经常并存。两种情况 (CCHD-SAH) 的关联对细胞外基质 (ECM) 重塑的影响尚不清楚。基质金属蛋白酶 (MMP) 2 和 9 参与 ECM 重塑。本研究的目的是评估 CCHD-SAH 患者的 MMP 2 和 MMP9，并将它们的水平与促纤维化细胞因子 TGF-β 的水平相关联。方法。我们纳入了 19 名 CCHD-SAH 患者、14 名单纯 CCHD 患者和 19 名性别和年龄相匹配的对照。通过凝胶酶谱法研究 MMP-2 和 MMP-9 血浆水平，并显示为光密度 (OD)。TGF-β 血浆水平通过双配体 ELISA 测量并表示为 pg/mL。结果。单纯 CCHD 患者的中位（第 5、95 ）^{MMP -} 2 血浆水平为 1224.7 OD（1160、1433.5），CCHD-SAH 患者为 1424.1 OD（1267.5、1561），而 CCHD-SAH 患者为 940 OD（898.1、1000.8）控制（). 单纯 CCHD 患者的 MMP-9 血浆水平为 1870 OD (1740, 1904.1)，CCHD-SAH 患者为 1754.6 OD (1650, 2049)，对照组为 89.7 OD (80, 96)。). CCHD-SAH 患者的 MMP-9 血浆水平高于 MMP-2（). TGF-β 血浆水平与 MMP-2 血清水平之间未发现相关性 ( r  = 0.12;),但呈中度负相关 ( r  = −0.46;)在 TGF-β 和 MMP-9 血浆水平之间观察到。结论。MMP-2，尤其是 MMP-9 可能在 CCHD-SAH 患者的 ECM 重塑过程中发挥作用。TGF-β 可能会抵消 MMP 对 CCHD-SAH 患者 ECM 重塑过程的影响。