Abstract:

Yin Jiawen, Yang Wenlin Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260, China Corresponding author: Yang Wenlin, Email: yangwenlin@21cn.com 【Abstract】 Objective To detect serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D （25［OH］D） and matrix metalloproteinase 9 （MMP-9） in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria （CSU）, and to explore their significance. Methods Totally, 56 patients with CSU and 25 healthy controls were enrolled into this study. High-performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS） and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） were performed to measure serum levels of 25（OH）D and MMP-9 respectively in these subjects. Statistical analysis was carried out by two independent samples t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test for comparisons of the above indexes between the two groups, and by Spearman rank correlation analysis for assessment of relationships between the serum levels of 25（OH）D and MMP-9 as well as between the two indexes and disease severity. Results Of the 56 patients, 19 were diagnosed with mild CSU, 26 with moderate CSU and 11 with severe CSU. Compared with the control group, the patient group showed significantly lower serum levels of 25（OH）D （21.74 ± 6.04 vs. 30.17 ± 2.21 μg/L, P < 0.05）, but significantly higher serum levels of MMP-9 （Median ［P25 - P75］: 291.55 ［166.18 - 594.46］ vs. 138.46 ［94.27 -233.12］ μg/L, P < 0.05）. In the patient group, the serum level of 25（OH）D was negatively correlated with that of MMP-9 （rs = －0.26, P < 0.05）, but uncorrelated with the severity of CSU （rs = －0.20, P > 0.05）; the serum level of MMP-9 was positively correlated with the severity of CSU （rs = 0.27, P < 0.05）. Conclusion Vitamin D and MMP-9 may play a role in the occurrence of CSU.