Association of cytokine and matrix metalloproteinase profiles with disease activity and function in ankylosing spondylitis

The pathology of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) suggests that certain cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) might provide useful markers of disease activity. Serum levels of some cytokines and MMPs have been found to be elevated in active disease, but there is a general lack of information about biomarker profiles in AS and how these are related to disease activity and function. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether clinical measures of disease activity and function in AS are associated with particular profiles of circulating cytokines and MMPs