Atherosclerosis continues to cause considerable morbidity and mortality in the Western countries. In response to cardiovascular risk factors, a cascade of compensatory structural events occurs within the vessel wall. It has become increasingly evident that significant alterations in the structure and composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) play a key role in the atherogenic process. Far f...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are essential to the remodeling of the extracellular matrix. While their upregulation facilitates aging and cancer, they are essential to epidermal differentiation and the prevention of wound scars. The pharmaceutical industry is active in identifying products that inhibit MMPs to prevent or treat aging and cancer and products that stimulate MMPs to prevent epid...

An imbalance between matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases (TIMPs) may have a negative impact on the healing of rotator cuff tears. The aim of the project was to assess a possible relationship between clinical and radiographic characteristics of patients such as the age, sex, as well as the degenerative status of the tendon and the MMPs and TIMPs in their ...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) occupy a central role in embryogenesis and in normal physiological conditions, such as proliferation, cell motility, remodeling, wound healing, angiogenesis, and key reproductive events. MMPs form a multigenic family of proteolytic, zinc-dependent enzymes, with 26 members described until present, displaying multidomain structures and substrate specificities. MMP...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and might be potential markers of diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring treatment effects. The aim of the present study was evaluation of the MMPs significance in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF MMPs) of patients with ALS in relation to severity of the disease. Metallop...

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is a subepidermal autoimmune disease characterized by skin and intestinal lesions consistent with coeliac disease. There are also some data that metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in the development of skin lesions in DH, however their exact role in this process is not fully understood. The aim of the study was to investigate whether MMPs and their inhibitors a...

The aim of the work was to analyze, on a comparative basis, the signaling pathways operating in the regulation of a panel of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) expressed by human dermal fibroblasts submitted to mechanical stress relaxation by cytochalasin D (CD) and in a retracting collagen gel (RCG). The mRNA steady-state level of MMPs was measured by a quantitative RT-PCR procedure using a synth...

Tumor growth and development involves interaction between tumor cells and extracellular matrix components characterized by cell proliferation, survival, migration into other tissues by invasion or metastasis. Migration of these tumor cells involve degradation of ECM which is facilitated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Thus MMPs serve useful tool for early diagnosis, prognosis and survival ...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent proteolytic enzymes that degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) components like collagen, fi bronectin, and laminin. While this activity is important for normal development, morphogenesis, and wound healing, deregulation of MMP activity has been implicated in a number of cardiovascular diseases, including congenital heart defects, athe...