Serum metalloproteinases 1 and 7 in the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial pneumonias

Abstract Introduction Accurate diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has important therapeutic and prognostic implications and would be greatly aided by reliable diagnostic biomarkers as IPF has sometimes overlapping features with other interstitial lung diseases (ILD). Objectives To explore the value of serum metalloproteinases (MMP) 1 and 7 levels in the differential diagnosis of IPF with other ILD. Methods MMP-1/7 serum levels were measured using Luminex xMAP technology in 139 patients- 47 IPF, 36 non-IPF Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP), 14 idiopathic Nonspecific Interstitial Pneumonia (iNSIP), 29 secondary NSIP (secNSIP), 13 stage IV sarcoidosis- and 20 healthy controls, and compared using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results MMP-1 was significantly higher in IPF than non-IPF UIP ( P = .042) and sarcoidosis ( P = .027). MMP-7 was significantly higher in IPF than controls ( P