MMP9 and dilated cardiomyopathy: By contrast, persistent presence of MMP-9 contributes to inflammation and tissue destruction in many disease states including chronic wounds (Ladwig et al., 2002; Rayment et al., 2008), heart failure (Chu et al., 2011), rheumatic arthritis (Munoz-Valle et al., 2003), fibrotic lung disease (Fukuda et al., 1998), dilated cardiomyopathy (Ducharme et al., 2000), multiple sclerosis (Fernandes et al., 2009), asthma (Corry et al., 2004), and cancer (Turpeenniemi-Hujanen et al., 1985; Chandler et al., 1997; Martin et al., 2008; Xu et al., 2010).