MMP2 and myocardial infarction: Similarly, in a study performed by Isobe et al. [27], endostatin expression levels in cardiomyocytes and endostatin serum levels were significantly elevated, and neutralisation of endostatin exacerbated the tissue remodelling and interstitial fibrosis in a rat myocardial infarction model and caused increased tissue collagen and MMP-2/9 activity.