Clinical utility of serum matrix metalloproteinase 7 measurement in primary biliary cholangitis
CHEN Jiahui
WANG Lin
WANG Luan
Abstract：Objective To evaluate the clinical value of serum matrix metalloproteinase7(MMP7)measurement in patients with primary biliary cholangitis(PBC).Methods From December 2022 to June 2024,113 PBC patients admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were enrolled and subdivided into noncirrhotic PBC(n=80)and PBC with liver cirrhosis(n=33).A disease control group included 65 patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB),comprising 44 noncirrhotic and 21 cirrhotic CHB patients.A healthy control(HC)group included 63 individuals undergoing routine physical examinations.Serum MMP-7 was measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay.Routine liver function tests(AST,ALT,GGT,ALP,Alb,TBil,DBil),fibrosis indicators(APRI,FIB4),platelet count,and other relevant parameters were also collected.Betweengroup comparisons and pre/posttreatment changes in followup cases were analyzed.Spearman correlation was used to assess associations.Diagnostic performance of MMP-7 for PBC was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)analysis and area under the curve(AUC).Results Median serum MMP-7 in the PBC group(4.13[2.70-4.64]ng/mL)was significantly higher than in the CHB group(2.69[1.88-2.85]ng/mL]and the HC group(1.98±0.47 ng/mL)(P<0.01).MMP-7 was significantly higher in PBC patients with cirrhosis(5.94[3.25-8.56]ng/mL]than in noncirrhotic PBC patients(3.38[2.57-4.05]ng/mL](P<0.01).The AUC for discriminating PBC from healthy controls was 0.884;at a cutoff of 2.47 ng/mL,sensitivity was 80.5%,specificity 88.9%,positive predictive value 92.8%,and negative predictive value 71.8%.Combining MMP-7 with APRI and FIB4 yielded an AUC of 0.913,a modest,nonsignificant improvement over MMP-7 alone(P=0.051).The AUC for discriminating PBC from CHB was 0.757(95%CI 0.683-0.830).The AUC for differentiating cirrhotic from noncirrhotic PBC was 0.713(95%CI 0.595-0.832).Spearman analysis showed positive correlations between MMP-7 and APRI(r=0.491,P<0.01)and between MMP-7 and FIB4(r=0.459,P<0.01).In patients followed after 3-4 months of ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA)therapy,MMP-7 levels declined significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion Serum MMP-7 is elevated in PBC patients,particularly those with cirrhosis.MMP-7 may serve as a potential marker for assessing disease progression in PBC.
Keywords：primary biliary cholangitismatrix metalloproteinase 7liver cirrhosischronic hepatitis B
Publication Date：2026-02-26
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-23(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 237-241 )