IL-1β and MMP-1 expression are often upregulated in patients with COPD (Imai et al., 2001; Ostridge et al., 2016), while MT1-MMP and TIMP1 imbalance can lead to improper lung tissue maintenance (Vandenbroucke et al., 2011; Woode et al., 2015). Here, MMP1 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.