TIMP2 and atherosclerosis: The dramatic shift in brachiocephalic plaque composition towards vulnerability caused by deletion of TIMP-2 accords with a previous study, which intimated that overexpression of exogenous TIMP-2 favourably affects plaque phenotype, possibly through modulation of macrophage behaviour.21 However, the potential beneficial anti-proteolytic effects afforded from elevated exogenous TIMP-2 levels on murine atherosclerosis were not fully elucidated, although the involvement of gelatinolytic MMPs were implied by in situ zymography.