BACKGROUND Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), a potentially malignant oral lesion, is a form of pathological fibrosis affecting the oral mucosa. It results from an imbalance in equilibrium of the normal process of synthesis and degradation of extra cellular matrix. Matrix metalloproteinases and its inhibitors play important role in remodeling of the extra cellular matrix which are important in prog...

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are endogenous inhibitor proteins of matrix metalloproteinases and contain 12 cysteine residues that are conserved among TIMPs, and which are important for their activity and structure. In the present study, three tryptophan residues conserved among TIMPs were revealed to be important for the secretion of TIMP-2. Replacement of conserved tryptophan...

Objective: Proteins of the matrix metalloproteinases family play a vital role in extracellular matrix maintenance and basic physiological processes in tissue homeostasis. The function and activities of matrix metalloproteinases in response to compression therapies have yet to be defined. Here, a swine model of hypertrophic scar was used to profile the transcription of all known 26 matrix metall...

Excess proteolysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of articular cartilage is a key characteristic of arthritis. The main enzymes involved belong to the metalloproteinase family, specifically the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and a group of proteinases with a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS). Chondrocytes are the only cell type embedded in the car...

BACKGROUND Breakdown of extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the important hallmarks of cancer progression which facilitates the invasion of tumoral cells to the surrounding tissue. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can degrade various components of the ECM and basement membrane. The aim of this study was to determine the role of matrix metalloproteinases-9 protein in the biologic behavior of or...

Degradation of ECM, particularly interstitial collagen, promotes plaque instability, rendering atheroma prone to rupture. Previous studies implicated matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in these processes, suggesting that dysregulated MMP activity, probably due to imbalance with endogenous inhibitors, promotes complications of atherosclerosis. We report here that the serine proteinase inhibitor ti...