A cross-sectional study on the comparison of serum SIRT-1 and MMP-9 levels of patients with bronchiectasis and healthy controls.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Bronchiectasis is the permanent enlargement of the bronchi following damage to the respiratory tract (bronchi) in the lungs. Bronchiectasis not associated with cystic fibrosis is gaining an increasing place among chronic respiratory diseases worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify the levels of MMP-9, known to cause bronchial damage in chronic pulmonary illness, and SIRT-1, an anti-aging and anti-infective regulatory protein, in patients with bronchiectasis and to evaluate the importance of these biomarkers in diagnosis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Chest Diseases Clinic of Sivas Cumhuriyet University Medical Faculty Hospital between November 2020 and September 2022. We recruited 30 patients with bronchiectasis whose diagnosis was verified by high-resolution chest CT scan and 30 healthy controls. SIRT-1 and MMP-9 levels in the serum of the study group were determined by the ELISA method. RESULTS: SIRT-1 and MMP-9 concentrations were found to be statistically significant. In comparison to the control group, it was observed that the bronchiectasis group had a lower serum SIRT-1 levels (p<0.001). The bronchiectasis group had higher serum MMP-9 values than the control group (p<0.001). Age-related differences in SIRT-1 and MMP-9 concentrations were not observed. No correlation was found between MMP-9 and SIRT-1. The results of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that MMP-9 has relatively high sensitivities. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that, higher inflammation elevates MMP-9 levels while decreasing SIRT-1 levels. MMP-9 and SIRT-1 may be potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of bronchiectasis.