Authors
Magdalena Rogalska, Sławomir Ławicki, Agnieszka Błachnio-Zabielska, Piotr Zabielski, Kamila Roszczyc-Owsiejczuk, Jacek Janica, Aleksandra Andrzejuk, Justyna Kryńska, Maksymilian Lech, Andrzej Dąbrowski, Robert Flisiak, Paweł Rogalski
Published in
Scientific reports. Jun 21, 2026. Epub Jun 21, 2026.
Abstract
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease with progressive bile duct injury, inflammation, and fibrosis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to extracellular matrix remodeling but their circulating profile and clinical relevance in early-stage PBC remain incompletely defined. We characterized circulating MMPs in early-stage PBC and related them to non-invasive fibrosis and portal hemodynamics. Forty-six patients with early-stage PBC and 31 healthy controls were studied. Plasma MMP-2, -3, -7, -9, -10, and -26 were quantified by ELISA; liver stiffness was measured by point shear-wave elastography and portal flow indices by Doppler ultrasound. Compared with controls, PBC patients showed higher MMP-7 (p < 0.0001), MMP-2 (p = 0.0007), and MMP-10 (p = 0.046). MMP-7 correlated with liver stiffness (R = 0.68, p < 0.001) and demonstrated the highest discriminatory performance for significant fibrosis defined as LSM > 5.56 kPa (AUC = 0.800, p < 0.001). In exploratory regression analyses, higher MMP-7 concentrations remained associated with significant fibrosis after adjustment for age, whereas APRI and FIB-4 did not show significant discriminatory performance in ROC analysis. Early-stage PBC is therefore associated with a distinct plasma MMP profile, and MMP-7 may serve as a practical biomarker of fibrogenesis, supporting its use for monitoring disease progression.
PMID:
42324320
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Jun 2026.
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