Furthermore, conditional ablation of the c-Met receptor by neutralizing antibody abolished the inhibitory effect of rosiglitazone on MMP-1 and collagen type I, while overexpression of c-Met receptor restored the effects of rosiglitazone on collagen I and MMP-1 in lung fibroblasts isolated from black SSc-ILD patients. Here, MMP1 is linked to systemic sclerosis.