{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T05:38:14Z","timestamp":1776836294141,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Serum MMP-7 was measured using chemiluminescence immunoassay in 184 PBC patients and 94 healthy controls. PBC patients were stratified into cirrhotic (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f75) and non-cirrhotic (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f109) subgroups; 65 underwent liver biopsy with Ludwig classification. Liver function tests, platelet count, the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) were assessed. Diagnostic performance was evaluated via group comparisons, Spearman correlation, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      MMP-7 levels were significantly higher in PBC patients compared with healthy controls [5.12 (3.73\u20136.97) vs. 2.46 (1.93\u20132.84) ng\/mL,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001], and further elevated in cirrhotic vs. non-cirrhotic [6.99 (5.80\u201311.80) vs. 4.11 (3.59\u20135.25) ng\/mL] and in advanced vs. early fibrosis [7.13 (5.78\u201311.02) vs. 3.83 (3.52\u20135.61) ng\/mL;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001]. For cirrhosis discrimination, MMP-7 achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.830 (95% CI: 0.765\u20130.894); combining it with APRI\/ FIB-4 did not significantly improve accuracy (combined AUC\u202f=\u202f0.849,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.224). For advanced fibrosis, AUC was 0.877 (95% CI: 0.794\u20130.959). MMP-7 correlated with APRI, FIB-4, and histological stage (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01). After 3\u20134\u202fmonths of ursodeoxycholic acid treatment, MMP-7 decreased significantly and paralleled alkaline phosphatase decline.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Serum MMP-7 is elevated in PBC and correlates with disease severity, including cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis. It shows robust diagnostic performance as a standalone biomarker and demonstrates promise for monitoring treatment response, underscoring its potential clinical utility as a complementary non-invasive tool in PBC management.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1821563","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T04:39:51Z","timestamp":1776832791000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Serum matrix metalloproteinase-7 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in primary biliary cholangitis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jiahui","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zibo Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Zibo, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaoying","family":"Shang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qingdao Municipal Hospital","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chong","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Luan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nana","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wenlong","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mingjun","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1002\/hep.30145","article-title":"Primary Biliary Cholangitis: 2018 Practice Guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver 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