The effect of interferon β-1a on MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteolytic activity

Abstract

MMP-2 and MMP-9 play a significant role in the development of numerous diseases mainly with the inflammatory pathogenesis. One of the drugs exerting an effect on metalloproteinases is IFN-β. Previous studies showed that IFN β-1b can decrease MMP synthesis and moreover inhibit their proteolytic activity. The aim of our study was to analyse the influence of recombinant IFN β-1a (identical with natural IFN-β) on MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities. The gelatinolytic activity was evaluated with zymography in sera obtained from 10 healthy donors. After electrophoresis gels were incubated with or without IFN β-1a (2000 U/ml) for 18 h. We noticed a significant decrease of MMP-2/72 kDa (P = 0.0283) and the augmentation of MMP-9/92 kDa (P = 0.0042) activities after incubation with interferon. The elevation of MMP-9/92 kDa activity suggests that IFN β-1a can exhibit proinflammatory features besides well-known anti-inflammatory properties.