After 48 h of culture with 30% AT-MSC-CM, the expression level of MMP2 mRNA in canine HCC cells was increased (4.04 ± 1.23 times higher than the level in controls), but the expression levels of MMP9 mRNA was decreased compared with controls (0.48 ± 0.13 the level in cells cultured without AT-MSC-CM) (P < 0.05; Fig 4). Here, MMP2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.