Correlation between acute myocardial infarction complicated with cerebral infarction and expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated with cerebral infarction (CI) and expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 50 AMI patients treated in our hospital were enrolled, including 23 AMI patients complicated with CI in the AMI-CI group, and 27 patients with AMI alone in the AMI group. Venous blood was collected from each patient after admission. The serum levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and their mRNA expressions were measured via quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). The cerebral computed tomography (CT) scan was performed for calculating the CI size. The neurological function was evaluated using the neurological deficit score. The correlations between the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 with CI size and neurological deficit score were investigated using Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: The expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the AMI-CI group were significantly higher than those in the AMI group with significant differences (p<0.05). The mRNA expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in AMI-CI group were also significantly higher than those in the AMI group, and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). Larger CI size was observed in the AMI-CI group than that in the AMI group, showing a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). The neurological deficit score in the AMI-CI group was significantly higher than that in the AMI group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05). The expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were positively correlated with the CI size and neurological deficit score in AMI patients complicated with CI. CONCLUSIONS: Disease severity of AMI complicated with CI is positively correlated with the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Higher expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 are expected to indicate a higher risk of AMI complicated with CI.