MMP7 and atherosclerosis: The indicated adverse role for MMP-7 in atherosclerosis progression, and potential plaque vulnerability is in accordance with a previous study assessing brachiocephalic artery atherosclerosis in mice5, alongside reports of increased macrophage foam cell MMP-7 expression in rupture-prone human carotid plaques27, and an association in plasma MMP-7 levels with plaque phenotype and mortality rates28.