MMP9 and spinal cord injury: In this report higher levels of MMP-9 activity in (−/−) NRF2 knockdown mice were noticed when compared to NRF2 (+/+) mice after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), suggesting that NRF2 plays a protective role in spinal cord, possibly by limiting the inflammatory response that occur after SCI via MMP-9 modulation [19].