Inflammageing assessed by MMP9 in normal Japanese individuals and the patients with Werner syndrome.

Age-associated minor inflammation: inflammageing may explain human ageing mechanism(s). Our previous study reported a significant increase in the serum level of highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with normal ageing and the patients with Werner syndrome (WS). To further study the minor inflammatory condition associated with ageing, another possible ageing biomarker: matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) was examined in the sera from 217 normal Japanese individuals aged between 1 and 100 years and 41 mutation-proven Japanese WS aged between 32 and 70 years. MMP9 was assayed by ELISA. The serum level of MMP9 was elevated significantly (p < 0.001) with normal ageing from both sexes as hsCRP. In contrast to normal ageing, the serum MMP9 level in WS decreased significantly with calendar age (p < 0.05). The MMP9 level (ng/mL) in WS (147.2 ± 28.5) was not significantly different in comparison with those from age-matched normal adult population aged between 25 and 70 years (109.1 ± 9.4), nor normal elderly population aged between 71 and 100 years (179.9 ± 16.1). Although both normal ageing and WS were associated with minor inflammation, the inflammatory parameters such as serum MMP9 and hsCRP changed differently between normal ageing and WS. The WS-specific chronic inflammation including skin ulcer and diabetes mellitus may contribute the different behavior of both ageing biomarkers from normal ageing.