MMP14 and hepatocellular carcinoma: As shown in Fig. 2c, overexpression of the wild-type MT1-MMP but not MT1-E240A markedly reduced LDLR levels in HepG2, Huh7.5, Hepa1c1c7 and rat hepatoma-derived McArdle cells, indicating the requirement of the proteolytic activity of MT1-MMP for its effect on LDLR expression.