MMP9 and cancer: As shown in Figure 6A, TNF-α expression was observed to upregulate expression of several cancer-associated genes in the epithelial cells which include extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling genes such as MMP9, PLAU, FN1 and ICAM1, chemokines such as CCL2, CXCL2, CXCL3 and CXCL10 and regulatory genes such as UBD and PTGS2.