Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) plays an important role in extracellular and vascular remodelling. We aimed therefore to assess the role of blood pressure (BP) control on plasma MMP-9 in relation to the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) type II. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Plasma MMP-9 was measured in 61 patients who were divided into two groups depending on their BP control as follows: 49 patients with uncontrolled arterial hypertension (AH) defined as BP values > 130/80 mm Hg and 12 patients with optimal blood pressure values. Plasma MMP-9 levels were measured with immunoassay at discharge. Group comparisons were made with the independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test and χ(2) test where appropriate. The associations of the variables with MMP-9 were investigated with linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The diabetics made up 34.4% of the investigated patients. Frequency of DM did not differ between the two BP groups (30.0% vs. 36.6%, p > 0.05). Plasma MMP-9 concentrations differed significantly between the diabetics vs. non-diabetics (median: 1.9 ng/ml, range: 1.0-7.3 vs. 1.4 ng/ml, range: 0.5-4.7, p < 0.05). Stratification across the categories of BP control showed a significant correlation between plasma MMP-9 and DM type II only in the uncontrolled BP group. The significance of that relationship disappeared in the group of patients with optimal BP control. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma values of MMP-9 are raised in patients with DM type II. The results revealed the impact of the combination of uncontrolled AH and DM type II on vascular remodelling processes.