In animal models of diabetes and hypertension, excessive proteolytic MMP activity cleaves the extracellular domain of the insulin receptor, as well as other receptors, resulting in loss of function, including a reduction in insulin sensitivity.[8,9] Blockade of proteases by an MMP inhibitor (MMPI) therefore improved not only MMP levels and activity but blood glucose levels by 33% in mice.[9] Regulation of MMPs is, however, complex, where transcriptional regulators and tissue inhibitors of MMP (TIMPs) modulate MMP levels and activity, respectively. The gene discussed is INS; the disease is diabetes mellitus.