The purpose of the study was to compare the results of sepsis scoring (clinical examination and clinical pathology) to the concentrations of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) -2, -8, and -9; tissue-inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) -1 and -2; and inflammatory chemokines interleukin (IL) 1β and tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNF-α) in plasma and peritoneal fluid of equine colic patients. A modified sepsis scoring including general condition, heart and respiratory rate, rectal temperature, mucous membranes, white blood cell count (WBC), and ionized calcium was applied in 47 horses presented with clinical signs of colic. Using this scoring system, horses were classified as negative (, ≤6/19 points), questionable (, 7-9/19 points), or positive (, ≥10/19 points) for sepsis. MMPs, TIMPs, IL-1β, and TNF-α concentrations were evaluated in plasma and peritoneal fluid using species-specific sandwich ELISA kits. In a linear discriminant analysis, all parameters of sepsis scoring apart from calcium separated well between sepsis severity groups (). MMP-9 was the only biomarker of high diagnostic value, while all others remained insignificant. A significant influence of overall sepsis scoring on MMP-9 was found for peritoneal fluid () with a regression coefficient of 0.092, while no association was found for plasma (). Using a MMP-9 concentration of >113 ng/ml in the peritoneal fluid was found to be the ideal cutoff to identify positive sepsis scoring (≥10/19 points; sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 82.9%). In conclusion, MMP-9 was found to be a biomarker of high diagnostic value for sepsis and endotoxemia in equine colic. The evaluation of peritoneal fluid seems preferable in comparison to plasma. As abdominocentesis is commonly performed in the diagnostic work-up of equine colic, a pen-side assay would be useful and easy-to-perform diagnostic support in the decision for therapeutic intervention.

中文翻译：

---

腹膜液中的 MMP-9 浓度是与马绞痛内毒素血症相关的有价值的生物标志物

该研究的目的是将脓毒症评分（临床检查和临床病理学）的结果与基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）-2、-8和-9的浓度进行比较；金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂 (TIMP) -1 和 -2；马绞痛患者血浆和腹膜液中的炎症趋化因子白细胞介素 (IL) 1 β和肿瘤坏死因子 - α (TNF- α )。改良的败血症评分，包括一般状况、心率和呼吸频率、直肠温度、粘膜、白细胞计数 (WBC) 和离子钙，应用于 47 匹出现绞痛临床症状的马。使用这个评分系统，马匹被分类为负面（， ≤6/19分），有问题（， 7-9/19 分），或正值（， ≥10/19 分）脓毒症。使用物种特异性夹心 ELISA 试剂盒评估血浆和腹膜液中的MMP、TIMP、IL-1 β和 TNF- α浓度。在线性判别分析中，除了钙之外，脓毒症评分的所有参数在脓毒症严重程度组之间都很好地分开（）。MMP-9 是唯一具有高诊断价值的生物标志物，而所有其他标志物仍然不显着。发现腹膜液中脓毒症总体评分对 MMP-9 有显着影响（），回归系数为 0.092，而血浆（）。研究发现，腹腔液中 MMP-9 浓度 >113 ng/ml 是识别脓毒症阳性评分的理想临界值（≥10/19 分；敏感性为 83.3%，特异性为 82.9%）。总之，MMP-9被发现是马绞痛败血症和内毒素血症具有高诊断价值的生物标志物。与血浆相比，腹膜液的评估似乎更可取。由于腹腔穿刺术通常在马绞痛的诊断检查中进行，因此笔侧检测在治疗干预决策中将是有用且易于执行的诊断支持。