| Objective: To determined the plasma MMP-9 levels before and after PCI for patients with coronary heart disease and before and after coronary angiography for normal control group, and to investigate the value of MMP-9 in evaluating the plaque stability. Methods: The plasma MMP-9 levels of 29 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 34 patients with unstable angina(UAP), 27 patients with stable angina (SAP) and 28 normal persons were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent. Meanwhile, serum hs-CRP was measured by particle-enhanced immunonephelometry. Results: (1) The baseline level of MMP-9 was higher in the AMI and UAP groups than those in SAP and the control groups. The serum levels of hs-CRP were higher in the AMI group than those in UAP, SAP and the control groups, and were higher in the UAP group than those in the SAP and the control groups. The changed value of MMP-9 (AMMP-9) was bigger in AMI and UAP groups than those in SAP and the control groups. (2) The plasma levels of MMP-9 were correlated positively with the levels of hs-CRP, but both MMP-9 and hs-CRP did not correlated with Gensini score and the number of coronary artery atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusions: The plasma levels of MMP-9 and hs-CRP were associated with plaque destabilization of coronary atherosclerotic lesions but were independent of the severity of coronary artery disease. The decrease of plasma MMP-9 concentration may be a result of the improvement of ischemia and inflammation, but the exact mechanism remains further study.
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