Interestingly, iron deficiency upregulates atheroma inflammation and enhances the production of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN)/matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) from human monocyte-derived macrophages or foam cells by activating p38/ mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/NF-κB pathway [97], and by the overexpression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) [98], interleukin-1β (IL-1β) [99], cyclooxygenase-2 [100], and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) [100]. Here, MMP9 is linked to nutritional disorder.