In diabetes the increased formation of advanced glycation residues (AGEs) and altered properties of glycated ECM molecules produce similar downregulation of MMP expression in other tissues; including MMP-7 in mesangial cells in diabetic nephropathy (McLennan et al., 2007) and downregulation of MMP-1/-2 in dermal fibroblasts (Rittie et al., 1999). Here, MMP7 is linked to diabetic kidney disease.