Matrix metalloproteinases in the pathogenesis of viral heart disease

D Marchant, BM McManus - Trends in cardiovascular medicine, 2009 - Elsevier
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that digest the extracellular matrix and
regulate the immune response by cleavage of chemokines and cytokines into products with
altered activities. Matrix metalloproteinase expression in viral heart disease has been linked
to the onset of myocarditis and the long-term sequelae associated with this illness. However,
MMPs are also expressed as a functional part of the immune response, and it was recently
shown that MMP-9 is a beneficial part of the antiviral immune response in viral myocarditis …