PURPOSE: Dupuytren’s disease is a connective tissue disorder viewed as a progressive pathological process involving multiple molecular events that lead ultimately to considerable changes in cell phenotype and function and to the deposition of excess matrix proteins in the extracellular space of the palmar aponeurosis, resulting in a flexion deformity of the fingers and loss of hand function. It is suggested, that the fibrosis of the palmar fascia may be the result of disturbed physiological balance between MMPs and their endogenous antagonists. Gelatinase A (MMP-2) is a member of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) family of proteolytic enzymes that contribute to remodeling the extracellular matrix by degrading its components. The aim of this study was to investigate the activation level of MMP-2, in palmar fascia with Dupuytren’s contracture in relation to the clinical stages of disease progression. METHODS: The level of relative MMP-2 activation, was investigated with use of the substrate gel sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis zymography in 53 pathological tissues representing four clinical stages of disease progression and 12 fragments of normal palmar fascia obtained from patients surgically treated for carpal tunnel syndrome. The intensity of each sample band was determined densitometrically using software (ImageJ) and expressed as a ratio of the percentage of active to latent MMP-2 (activation ratio). The results were analyzed statistically with the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test for comparing the 4 populations of patients with different disease stages. A p value of less than.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We found that the level of MMP-2 activation was significantly elevated in the palmar fascias with Dupuytren’s contracture compared with normal tissues. We did not find statistically significant differences between groups with different stages of the disease progression. CONCLUSION: The differences in MMP-2 activation between contractured and normal fascia suggest a participation of this enzyme in the promotion of Dupuytren’s disease.

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