Neutrophil collagenase MMP-8 is specifically upregulated in the plasma in active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

<p>Plasma samples were collected prospectively from patients in Lima, Peru. MMP concentrations were measured by Luminex bead array. <b>A</b>. MMP-1 was increased in both active TB and respiratory symptomatics compared to healthy controls (p<0.001 and 0.01 respectively). <b>B</b>. MMP-3 showed no difference between the groups. <b>C</b>. MMP-7 was increased in both active TB and symptomatic controls compared to healthy controls (p<0.01 for both). <b>D</b>. MMP-8 was specifically increased in active TB compared to both respiratory symptomatics and healthy controls (p<0.001 for both). <b>E</b>. MMP-9 was increased in active TB only compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). <b>F</b>. MMP-10 showed no difference between the groups. Statistical analysis was performed using a one way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test, ***p<0.001, **p<0.01, *p<0.05. Each box represents the 25^th to 75^th centiles, the central line the median, and the whiskers the minimum and maximum values.