Numbers of neutrophils correlates with MMP-9, MMP-2 and TIMP-1 levels in BALF.

<p>Correlations between the levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1 and the cell fractions of BALF in PPE (+) Gal-9 (-) (n = 9) (open circle) and PPE (+) Gal-9 (+) (n = 8) (closed circle) on day 7 were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation analysis. Significant positive correlations were observed between the levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1 and the numbers of neutrophils (A-C) but not the number of lymphocytes (D-F) in BALF. Abbreviations: MMP-9, matrix metalloproteinase-9; MMP-2, matrix metalloproteinase-2; TIMP-1, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1; Gal-9, galectin-9; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; rs; Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.