MMP-2 distinguished asymptomatic from cardiac clinical forms of Chagas disease, while MMP-9 segregated infected from non-infected patients, indicating their potential as biomarkers for disease progression.
Cohort (n=33)
No
Do MMP-2 and MMP-9 plasma levels predict clinical evolution from asymptomatic to cardiac forms in patients with chronic Chagas disease?
MMP-2 and MMP-9 plasma levels are potential biomarkers for predicting the progression from asymptomatic to cardiac clinical forms in chronic Chagas disease.
One of the major challenges in chronic Chagas disease is to understand the mechanisms that predict the clinical evolution from asymptomatic to severe cardiac clinical forms. Our cohort consisted of twenty-eight Chagas disease patients followed for twenty years. Plasma levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 gelatinases and TIMPs were evaluated by multiplexed immunoassay at two points in time with an average interval of six years. MMP-2 plasma levels, but not MMP-9, increased in cardiac patients over time. TIMP-1 levels diminished in cardiac patients, while TIMP-3 dropped in asymptomatic patients in the course of the evaluated interval. An inversion of time lines was observed relative to the clinical asymptomatic and cardiac forms for MMP-2. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified MMP-2 as a biomarker to distinguish asymptomatic from cardiac clinical forms, while MMP-9 is a biomarker that segregates infected from non-infected patients. We have pointed out that MMP-2 and MMP-9 together can predict clinical evolution in Chagas disease. MMP-2 was suggested as a biomarker for fibrosis replacement in early remodeling and a sensitive predictor for initial changes in asymptomatic patients that may evolve into the cardiac clinical form. MMP-9 seems to be a biomarker for late fibrosis and severe cardiac remodeling in cardiac patients.
Medeiros et al. (Wed,) conducted a cohort in Chronic Chagas disease (n=33). Biomarker evaluation (MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMPs) vs. Non-infected individuals and different clinical forms was evaluated on Plasma levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and their diagnostic performance to distinguish clinical forms. MMP-2 distinguished asymptomatic from cardiac clinical forms of Chagas disease, while MMP-9 segregated infected from non-infected patients, indicating their potential as biomarkers for disease progression.