MMP9 and Hepatic fibrosis: The primary aim of this study was to examine if there is a synergistic antifibrotic effect of a combination of two mechanistically different therapeutic modalities, degradation of ECM with mMMP-9 (E402Q) neutralization of TIMP-1 and freeing of the endogenous catalytically active MMP-9 and hepatocyte protection with the multifunctional growth factor HGF, on CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats during active fibrogenesis.