Proteolysis/antiproteolysis system in apparently healthy men and women of different ages

Relevance. Aging is a natural biological process of a retrograde nature, during which there is an imbalance of all systems, including the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) system and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP). And vascular aging is associated with functional and structural changes primarily in the arterial vasculature with age. Aging may be a trigger factor for pathological changes in the endothelium. The molecular mechanisms underlying the process of vascular endothelial dysfunction include increased expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinases, the concentration of which changes with aging. Numerous studies report the role of MMP-1, –2, –9, –12 in the pathogenesis of premature aging of the endothelium; they initiate cell apoptosis, which contributes to increased permeability, but there are no studies in which all age categories of both men and women were analyzed, not burdened by somatic pathology. This study examines the features of the proteolysis/antiproteolysis system in apparently healthy people of different ages and genders. Materials and Methods. As part of the pilot study, 347 apparently healthy people took part (226 women and 121 men, divided by age, according to the WHO classification), who underwent the first stage of clinical examination at the State Budgetary Institution “Consultative and Diagnostic Center of the Mountains. Yuzhno-­Sakhalinsk”, in which the level of MMP and TIMP in the blood serum was determined by solid-­phase ELISA, ng/ml. Statistical processing of the research results was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 25.0 software package. Results and Discussion. Changes in the proteolysis/antiproteolysis system were determined in both a group of men and women of different ages, which can be characterized as not pathological, but close to such. It was found that in men aged 60-74 years, discoordinated work of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors was recorded in the direction of enhancing the profibrosing effect, and in women in the same age category, the exact opposite component was identified — anti-fibrosing. Conclusion. The current development has demonstrated the influence of age and genetic resources on the system of matrix metalloproteinases and their tissue inhibitors, in addition, a special age group has been identified — the elderly group, which requires protection of the vascular system in order to monitor the impaired proteolysis/antiproteolysis system.