Matrix metalloproteinases and psychosocial factors in acute coronary syndrome patients.

FERNANDEZ MACHULSKY N; GAGLIARDI J; FABRE B; MIKSZTOWICZ V; LOMBARDO, MICAELA; GARCIA ESCUDERO A; GIGENA G; BLANCO F; GELPI R; SCHREIER , LAURA; GIDRON Y; BERG G

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2016 vol. 63 p. 102 - 108

0306-4530

Psychosocial factors have been linked to cardiovascular diseases independently of traditional risk factors.The impact of psychosocial factors on plaque destabilizing factors, such as matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) has been proposed although scarcely studied.Objective: To evaluate the relationships between hostility, perceived stress and social support with MMPsactivity in patients after an Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI).Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 76 patients on admission, post-angioplasty, 24 h, 7 daysand 3 months after AMI. Hostility, perceived stress and social support were evaluated by validatedquestionnaires.Results: Social support was positively correlated with patients´ı ejection fraction (r = 0.453, p = 0.009).Patients with higher infarct size presented increased MMP-2 activity at admission (p = 0.04). Patientswith one diseased vessel had more social support than those with three diseased vessels (p = 0.05). Thehighest values of MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity were observed at the acute event, decreasing, with thelowest activity at 3 months post-AMI (p < 0.001). Only in patients with low social support, hostility corre-lated with MMP-2 activity, from AMI onset (r = 0.645, p = 0.013), to 7 days post AMI (r = 0.557, p = 0.038).Hostility explained up to 28% of the variance in MMP-2 activity (R2= 0.28, p = 0.005). Finally, in patientswith high hostility, MMP-9 was positively correlated with IL-1 (r = 0.468, p = 0.02).Conclusions: This study adds weight to the idea that two psychosocial factors, namely hostility and socialsupport, acting jointly, may affect MMP-2 activity. Moreover, in hostile patients, there is a link betweenIL-1 and MMP-9. These findings support the role of psychosocial factors in plaque destabilization andin the inflammatory process in AMI.