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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on March 10, 2008
Age and Ageing 2008 37(3):318-323; doi:10.1093/ageing/afn039
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Copyright © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

Trypsin, elastase, plasmin and MMP-9 activity in the serum during the human ageing process

Leszek Paczek, Wanda Michalska and Irena Bartlomiejczyk

Department of Immunology, Transplantology and Internal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-006 Warsaw, Nowogrodzka 59, Poland

Address correspondence to: Leszek Paczek. Tel: +48 (0)22 502 16 41; Fax: +48 (0) 22 502 21 27. Email: leszekpaczek{at}onet.pl; rektor{at}rektorat.amwaw.edu.pl

Objective: the aim of this work was to define the influence of the ageing process on the activity of proteolytic enzymes, such as trypsin, elastase, plasmin and active MMP-9 concentration, as well as the inhibitor {alpha} 1-antitrypsin. Moreover, we assessed associations between enzyme activity and selected clinical and biochemical parameters.

Methods: healthy normotensive volunteers (n = 60, 30 women) aged 20–82 years were split into subgroups: young (aged 20–22), middle-aged (49–52) and elderly (77–82). Serum enzyme activity was assessed using fluorometric methods.

Results: overall, active MMP-9 concentration and trypsin activity decreased with age, and {alpha}1-antitrypsin concentration and plasmin activity increased. Activity of elastase increased with age when compared to the young age group. An inverse correlation was identified between MMP-9 concentration and BMI and a direct correlation found between BMI and elastase, plasmin activity and {alpha}1-antitrypsin concentration. In the middle-aged group, glucose correlated directly with trypsin activity and inversely with MMP-9 concentration. Trypsin activity and MMP-9 concentration correlated inversely with cholesterol concentration and plasmin and elastase activity, and the {alpha}1-antitrypsin concentration correlated with cholesterol concentration in the overall group.

Conclusions: the results confirm the influence of the ageing process on the activity of serum proteolytic enzymes. The activity of individual proteolytic enzymes in the serum changes with age.

Keywords: ageing, trypsin, plasmin, elastase, metalloproteinases

Received 21 March 2007; accepted in revised form 1 November 2007.


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