Organ morphogenesis: A metalloprotease prepares the way

It is generally believed that structural changes in the extracellular matrix are necessary for cell migration, wound repair and tissue remodeling. Matrix metalloproteases are the major family of proteolytic enzymes responsible for degrading extracellular matrix components, and have been implicated in all of these biological processes. They form part of a superfamily of zinc peptidases known as the metzincins, which include four distinct families: the astacins, the matrix metalloproteases, the adamlysins/reprolysins and the serralysins (large bacterial proteases). Members of this superfamily are characterized by both sequence and structural similarities, in particular an identical zincbinding environment [1].