Correlation between serum inflammatory factors MMP-9, sCD40L and leukoaraiosis

Lu Bing; Liu Zhou; Yang Yu; Chen Xiaoyi; Chen Qiuping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1009-6574.2018.01.002

Abstract：Objective To investigate the role of serum inflammatory factors, matrix metallo proteinase (MMP)-9 and soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), in the pathogenesis and the progression of leukoaraiosis (LA). Methods A total of 78 cases of LA patients (LA group) and 50 cases of healthy physical examination patients (control group) were selected. LA group was divided into 3 grades according to the Fazekas score: 28 cases in mild group, 28 in moderate group and 22 in severe group. The levels of serum MMP-9 and sCD40L were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELIAS), and the cognitive function was evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale. Results The level of serum MMP-9 and sCD40L of LA group was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P< 0.05). With the progression of the disease, the level of serum MMP-9 in LA patients increased gradually, and the difference among different grades was statistically significant (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in serum sCD40L among different grades (P> 0.05). The Pearson correlation analysis showed that the level of serum MMP-9 was positively correlated with the severity of LA (r=0.497,P=0.004), and negatively correlated with MoCA score (r=-0.398,P=0.030). There was no significant correlation between the level of serum sCD40L and the severity of LA, the MoCA score (P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that MMP-9 was an independent risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in LA patients (OR=2.336,P=0.014). Conclusions Serum MMP-9 and sCD40L are involved in the pathogenesis of LA, and MMP-9 can be used as an indicator to evaluate the severity of LA, which is related to cognitive function.