MMP-9 and MMP-3 are key contributors to BBB disruption in the context of ischemic stroke since these proteases degrade the basal lamina and tight junction proteins essential to the barrier function of the neurovascular unit (Rosenberg et al., 1998; Asahi et al., 2001; Rosell et al., 2008; Candelario-Jalil et al., 2009; Turner and Sharp, 2016). This evidence concerns the gene MMP9 and ischemic stroke.