In this regard, the pro-EndoMT effect exerted by SSc sera has been in part attributed to matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12)-dependent uPAR cleavage, a process that had already been implicated in both SSc impaired angiogenesis and fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation [46]. This evidence concerns the gene MMP12 and systemic sclerosis.