MMP13 and fibrosis: Several studies from the literature support the involvement of miR-27b-3p and miR-1228-3p in the progression of fibrosis: Akhtar et al. found that MMP13, a protein responsible for the physiological breakdown of extracellular matrix, is a known target for miR-27b-3p32; MMPs seem to act as the pathogenic mediators of kidney fibrosis and the assessment of specific MMPs in urinary samples was proposed as a noninvasive tool for the detection of kidney fibrosis33.