A Case-control Study to Determine Metalloproteinase-12 and Lysyl Oxidase Levels in Iraqi women with Osteoporosis

The current study aimed to ascertain the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) and Lysyl oxidase (LOX) in osteoporosis patients and their correlation with alkaline phosphatase (ALP), magnesium (Mg), vitamin D (Vit D), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and T-score %. 110 participants recruited from Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Iraq, were enrolled in this study from November 2019 to March 2020). The participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 comprised 60 osteoporotic women and group 2 consisted of 50 healthy women. (MMP and LOX) were estimated using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. The results showed significant differences in serum LOX, age, ALP, Mg, and T-score %, while no significant differences in serum MMP-12, Vit D, Ca, P, and body mass index (BMI) were noticed in osteoporosis patients as compared to the control group. The correlation analysis showed a significant correlation of T-score with Vit D and MMP12 in osteoporosis patients, when a t-test was conducted with the two participant groups. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between the T-score result and LOX, Mg, Ca, and P, which indicated that the relation was not linear because the change in the variables neither increased nor decreased systematically compared to the T-score. LOX, ALP, and Mg were significantly associated with osteoporosis patients, while MMP12 and Vit D were found to affect the density of the bone. Therefore, the studied parameters may be used in the form of a bone mineral density decline index.