pylori-infected” ulcer were 2.5 for MMP-9 (area of ROC curve [AUC] 0.68, 95% CI: 0.56–0.81, P = 0.007) and 1.5 for TIMP-1 (AUC 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63–0.85, P = 0.001) over gastric ulcer epithelial cells, respectively. Here, TIMP1 is linked to ulcer disease.