Further, miR-326 administration to mice with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis caused a significant downregulation of TGF-β1, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), ETS-1 (v-ets avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog 1), and SMAD3 phosphorylation and a significant increase in SMAD7 expression (Das et al., 2014). Here, MMP9 is linked to pulmonary fibrosis.