Production and activity of matrix metalloproteinases during liver fibrosis progression of chronic hepatitis C patients

Figure 1 Matrix metalloproteinase-2, -7 and -9 determination in serum. A: Detection of bands at 75, 29 and 50 kDa in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and healthy individuals corresponding to matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-7 and MMP-9, respectively; B: Densitometric analysis of each of the MMPs in the patients (gray bars) and the control (CT) group (white bars) expressed as relative optical density (ROD). Relative optical density analysis was performed using ImageJ software. Bars display the mean ± standard error of the mean of five independent assays of random samples from CHC samples and CT subjects. ^aP < 0.05; ^cP < 0.001.