The association between obesity and inflammation is well documented in epidemiological studies. Proteolysis of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins is involved in adipose tissue enlargement, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) collectively cleave all ECM proteins. Here, we examined the effects of C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, on the expression of MMPs and tissue inhibitor...

Dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism may contribute to vascular remodeling during the development and complication of human atherosclerotic lesions. We investigated the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of enzymes that degrade ECM components in human atherosclerotic plaques (n = 30) and in uninvolved arterial specimens (n = 11). We studied members of all thr...

The imbalance in the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and lysyl oxidases (LOXs) synovial fibroblasts (SFs) caused by mechanical injury inflammatory response prevents injured anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) from self-healing. However, research on effect growth factors SFs regulating microenvironment is limited. In this study, exogenous transform factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were employed ...

Dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism may contribute to vascular remodeling during the development and complication of human atherosclerotic lesions. We investigated the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of enzymes that degrade ECM components in human atherosclerotic plaques (n =30) and in uninvolved arterial specimens (n=11). We studied members of all three ...

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) are involved in vascular remodeling, (neuro)inflammation, blood-brain barrier breakdown and neuronal apoptosis. Proinflammatory mechanisms are suggested to play an important role during early brain injury and cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This study aimed to analyze MMP-3, MMP-9,...

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are one of the major classes of proteolytic enzymes involved in tumor invasion and metastasis and are inhibited by naturally occurring tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). {AU Query: Please verify that corrections made to previous sentence did not alter intended meaning}. In this study, we examined the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, membrane-...

Prostaglandins (PGs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) have been implicated in lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) by facilitating aqueous humor outflow. A possible role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in this process was emphasized by findings showing an impaired COX-2 expression in the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium (NPE) of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. Using human NPE cells, the...

The irreversible destruction of the cartilage, tendon, and bone that comprise synovial joints is the hallmark of both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). While cartilage is made up of proteoglycans and type II collagen, tendon and bone are composed primarily of type I collagen. RA is an autoimmune disease afflicting numerous joints throughout the body; in contrast, OA develops in...

The multicenter study conducted by Lorente and coworkers published in the previous issue of Critical Care demonstrates that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and MMP-10 and their inhibitor tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) are promising novel biomarkers to predict severity and outcome of sepsis. In recent years MMPs have emerged as biomarkers in a variety of diseases, such ...

Dysregulated expression or activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is observed in many kinds of live-threatening diseases. Therefore, MMP imaging for example with radiolabelled MMP inhibitors (MMPIs) potentially represents a valuable tool for clinical diagnostics using non-invasive single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. This work...