Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases collectively capable of degrading essentially all extracellular matrix components. These enzymes can be produced by several different types of cells in skin such as fibroblasts, keratinocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, mast cells, and eosinophils and their activity can be specifically inhibited by TIMPs (tissue...

Growth and ovulation of follicles, and development, maintenance, and regression of the corpus luteum depend on cyclical remodelling of the extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix consists of proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous components and provides the tissue-specific, extracellular architecture to which cells attach, and modulates the activities of cells through cell surface receptors...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a gene family of neutral proteases that are important in normal development, wound healing, and a wide variety of pathological processes, including the spread of metastatic cancer cells, arthritic destruction of joints, atherosclerosis, and neuroinflammation. In the central nervous system (CNS), MMPs have been shown to degrade components of the basal lamina,...

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health pandemic. Infection is spread by the aerosol route and Mycobacterium tuberculosis must drive lung destruction to be transmitted to new hosts. Such inflammatory tissue damage is responsible for morbidity and mortality in patients. The underlying mechanisms of matrix destruction in TB remain poorly understood but consideration of the lung extracellular ma...

Matrix metalloproteinases are vital drivers of synaptic remodeling in health and disease. It is suggested that at early stages of epileptogenesis, inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases may help ameliorate cell death, aberrant network rewiring, and neuroinflammation and prevent development of epilepsy.