Serum MMP-8 and TIMP-1 concentrations in a population-based cohort: effects of age, gender, and health status

BackgroundMatrix-degrading proteinases and their regulators, such as matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), may contribute to various pathological events. Elevated MMP-8 concentrations have been associated with e.g., cardiovascular diseases and periodontitis. However, there is little knowledge on the physiological concentrations of these molecules in serum, or the effect of demographic or lifestyle factors on their levels.Design and methodsWe investigated the effect of various demographic characteristics and behavioral habits, such as aging, sex, smoking, and BMI, on serum concentrations of MMP-8 and TIMP-1. We used the FINRISK97 cohort (n = 8,446), which has comprehensive information on demographic and lifestyle factors, clinical data, laboratory measurements, and register data available. Further, we investigated the concentrations of MMP-8, TIMP-1, and the MMP-8/TIMP-1 ratio in different age groups of healthy and diseased participants. A t-test was used to compare log-transformed mean levels in different groups and linear regression was used to evaluate the association between MMP-8 and TIMP-1 and selected diseases and background variables.ResultsMMP-8 levels decreased with increasing age in the whole population and for women, while TIMP-1 concentration increased slightly with age for the whole population and both genders separately (p for linear trend