Matrix metalloproteinases expression profile in Peyronie's Disease

• Grant number: 18/20885-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2019
• End date: December 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Sabrina Thalita dos Reis Faria
• Grantee: Gabriela Queiroz Do Amaral
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Peyronie's disease (PD) is a condition caused by the development of fibrous scar tissue inside the tunica albuginea (TA), causing penis deformity, which can present as a curved or shortened penis and painful erections. The epidemiological data regarding this pathology are not conclusive, but after several well-designed studies, some using imaging tests for evaluation of PD, the prevalence in the male population is estimated to be around 9%.PD etiology and biomolecular mechanisms have been extensively studied since there is no available medication with desired efficacy for treatment. The widely accepted hypothesis as the etiology of PD fibrotic plaques is that they originate from erratic penis microtrauma in patients who have a genetic predisposition to fibrosis. The pathological process leading to plaque formation is inadequate healing in which there is tissue fibrosis with elastic fibers disorganization, associated with fibrin accumulation and different degrees of inflammation. In the final phase of the scarring process, called remodeling, collagen breaks and reorganization occurs. At this time of healing, there is a balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and fibroblasts, where the enzymes degrade the collagen, while the cells produce this molecule. MMPs can be stimulated by IL-1 and inhibited by Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) and fibrinolytic inhibitors such as fibrin and the plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1). Thus, current molecular studies in PD focus on understanding the action mechanism of pro-fibrotic factors and the group of anti-fibrotic, as well as their association. Although there are already published papers evaluating the role of MMPs in PD, the results are controversial, and new studies are needed to identify the role of MMPs in the pathophysiology of PD and potentially change the disease course of treatment. Thus, the study proposal is to analyze the expression profile of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 1,2,3,8,9 and 13 in tissue samples from patients with Peyronie's disease (PD) and in patients without the disease (group control), to try to identify if any of these proteins present an expression pattern characteristic of the disease.