Elevated interleukin 8 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 levels are associated with myocardial pathology in users of anabolic-androgenic steroids

作者：Ida Gregersen, Morgan Scarth, Rang Abdullah, Per Medbøe Thorsby, Lisa Evju Hauger, Kristina Hermann Haugaa, Ellen Lund Sagen, Annika Elisabeth Michelsen, Thor Ueland, Thor Edvardsen, Pål Aukrust, Vibeke Marie Almaas, Astrid Bjørnebekk, Bente Lise Halvorsen · 发表于：European Journal of Preventive Cardiology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/eurjpc/zwae126 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Hormonal and reproductive studies、Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments、Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research

AIMS: In the current paper, we aim to explore the effect of both current and former long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use on regulation of systemic inflammatory markers and mediators of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling and their association with hormones and echocardiographic myocardial pathology in weightlifters. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a cross-sectional study, 93 weightlifting AAS users, of whom 62 were current and 31 were past users, with at least 1-year cumulative AAS use (mean 11 ± 7 accumulated years of AAS use), were compared with 54 non-using weightlifting controls (WLCs) using clinical interview, blood pressure measurements, and echocardiography. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interferon (IFN)-γ, growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, sex hormones, and lipids were analysed. It was found that serum levels of IL-8, GDF-15, and MMP-9 were significantly increased in current AAS users compared with former users and WLCs. Matrix metalloproteinase 9, but not IL-8, correlated consistently with sex hormone levels, and sex hormone levels correlated consistently with mean wall thickness, in current users. Moreover, HDL cholesterol was significantly lower in current vs. former AAS users and significantly inversely correlated with MMP-9 in current users. Further, in current users, MMP-9 and IL-8 correlated with markers of myocardial strain, and MMP-9 also correlated with indices of car...