When released from these granules, MMP-9 is not in a complex with its physiological inhibitor TIMP-1 [127], so MMP-9 exerts its catalytic activity in the TME, leading to an enhanced invasion of tumor and immune cells by the cleavage of ECM proteins (collagens, laminin, and fibronectin), but also to enhanced tumor angiogenesis by mobilizing Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from the ECM. Here, TIMP1 is linked to neoplasm.