MMP9 and pulmonary fibrosis: , but patientswith diffuse SSc had higher MMP-9 levels than controls(Figure 1(a)) as well as than patients with limitedSSc (587 ± 266 ng/mL versus 393 ± 182 ng/mL, P = .0003).No significant difference was notedbetween patients with lung fibrosis and those without (548 ± 222 ng/mL versus 517 ± 287 ng/mL).