Serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 and the relationship between serum levels and disease activity in the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Background and objective: systemic lupus erythematosus (sle) is a complicated autoimmune disease. although its pathogenesis is not clear, cytokine may be involved in it. so we investigated serum levels of macrophage-derived chemokine (mdc), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (mmp-9), and to determine the relationship between serum levels and the disease activity of sle. methods: serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 were measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (elisa). results: significantly decreased serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 were found in sle as compared to those in controls (p<0.001 p<0.001), but serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 increased after treatment (p<0.001 p<0.05). serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 were lower in patients with active disease than those with inactive disease (p<0.001 p<0.05). significantly decreased serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 were found in patients with renal damage than those without the damage (p<0.001 p<0.05). serum level of mdc was lower in patients with arthritis than those without the damage (p<0.001), but serum level of mmp-9 has no significant difference in two groups (p>0.05). conclusion: the present data suggest that mdc and mmp-9 may be involved in the pathogenesis of sle, and serum levels of mdc and mmp-9 could be markers of monitoring disease activity, renal damage, disease progression and improvement in sle.