MMP2 and aneurysm: On the other hand, MMP-14 activity could be a determining factor in MMP-2 activation and differ between the two groups—a potential explanation for our finding that MMP-14's total protein level does not differ between the aneurysm and control groups, although MMP-14 is assigned an important role in the activation process of MMP-2 in the literature, and a cell-culture study reported no MMP-2 activation at all without the presence of MMP-14 [26].