For this, synovialexplants from patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery werecultured with 100 nM of the peptides or with the carrier (DMSO) for 48h, and gene expression of MMP1, -3, -13 andADAMTS-4 and -5—proteasesknown to degrade extracellular matrix in osteoarthritis—was analyzed.Gene expression of none of the proteases analyzed was affected by thepresence of the peptides (Fig. 3). The gene discussed is MMP1; the disease is osteoarthritis.