Macrophage metalloprotease (MMP)-12 as a cardiovascular biomarker

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) worldwide represent the principal cause of death. Thus, the challenge to identify novel and clinically useful biomarkers of CVD risk has focused the attention over the last years. Atherosclerosis (ATS) is one of the major causes of CVD. ATS is an inflammatory multifactorial disease, in which the complex interaction between immune cells and inflammatory mediators drives the growth of atherosclerotic lesions and their progression toward complications. Taking into account the great number of molecules and cells involved, over the time several markers have been evaluated, including inflammatory mediators, acute phase response proteins, blood cells and proteins implicated in lipid metabolism. The study of these molecules has significantly contributed to improve the knowledge about the immune-inflammatory mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of ATS; however, they did not often represent useful biomarkers in the clinical practice due to their poor specificity. The contribution of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to CVD has been extensively reported, whereas their role as biomarkers and prognostic factors is not fully elucidated. Here we point out the role of MMP-12 as biomarker of CVD.