Correlation between carotid IMT and matrix metalloproteinases in patients with essential hypertension

Objective To investigate the correlation between carotid IMT and serum matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2),matrix metalloproteinases-9(MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1(TIMP-1) in patients with essential hypertension(EH).Methods Serum MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-170 were detected with ELISA in 40 EH patients with IMT≥0.9 mm(group A),30 EH cases with IMT0.9 mm(group B) and 36 healthy people(group C).The ratioes of MMP-2 to TIMP-1 and MMP-9 to TIMP-1 were calculated.Results The concentrations of serum MMP-2,MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in group A were significantly higher than those in groups of B and C(P0.01),while the ratioes of MMP-2 to TIMP-1 and MMP-9 to TIMP-1 in groups of A were significantly lower than those in groups B and C(P0.01).Serum levels of MMP-2,MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in groups of A and B positively correlated with carotid IMT and plaque score(P0.01),while the ratioes of MMP-2 to TIMP-1 and MMP-9 to TIMP-1 were negatively correlated with carotid IMT and plaque score(P0.05).Conclusion MMP-2,MMP-9 and TIMP-1 are associated with the occurrence and development of carotid atherosclerosis in the patients with EH.