The Gene Expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 in Non-pathological Paratumoral and Autopsy Lung Tissues

Finding a sample of healthy tissue is a critical challenge in research studies. Non-pathological Tissue adjacent to the tumor (NAT) specimens is usually used as the control in several studies. However, little is known about the similarity of NAT to healthy tissues. Here, we compared the expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and its inhibitor, Tissue Inhibitors of MMP (TIMP)-1 as extracellular matrix remodeling factors in NAT and autopsy lung tissue. RNA of 7 NAT and 6 Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) lung autopsies from healthy people as the control group was extracted, and cDNA was synthesized. The gene expression levels of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 were evaluated by real-time PCR. There were no significant differences in the expression of MMP-2, TIMP-1, or their ratio between the two groups. The results showed that NAT could be used as healthy controls in lung tissue studies for MMP-2 and TIMP-1.