1. HISTOPATOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ASPECTS (EXPRESSION OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE 9) IN POLYMYOSITIS AND DERMATOMYOSITIS.
- Author
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Cîrstea, Claudia, Stoica, Loredana Elena, Bărbulescu, Andreea Lili, Georgescu, Claudia Valentina, Dascălu, Rucsandra, Monica, Georgescu Diana, and Pătrașcu, Virgil
- Subjects
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MATRIX metalloproteinases , *HISTOPATHOLOGY , *IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY , *POLYMYOSITIS , *DERMATOMYOSITIS , *ENDOPEPTIDASES , *GENE expression - Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are a family of structural and functional related endopeptidases, calcium-dependent, zinccontaining which are responsible for the tissue remodeling and degradation of the extracellular matrix. We performed a retrospective study on 20 patients with poly/dermatomyositis with the aim of detecting the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 in these patients. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of MMP-9 in degenerate muscle fibers was absent in 4 cases. All other cases (16 cases) had positive weak or moderate intensity in the cytoplasm of degenerate striated muscle fibers. In all cases analyzed of unaffected striated muscle fibers MMP 9 was negative. MMP 9 was intense expressed in lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate, and intense or moderate expressed in the vessel walls. The overexpression of matrix metalloproteinases 9 on degenerated muscle fibers may be an important event in the multistep process of dermatomyositis and polymyositis and may play an important role in the development of new therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015