Researchers also demonstrated that the soft coral-derived diterpene at 2.5 and 5 mg/kg (s.c.)significantly attenuated the characteristics of RA, improved histopathological features, decreased the number of TRAP-positive multinucleated cells, and attenuated the protein expression of cathepsin K, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in ankle tissues as well as the level of IL-17A and macrophage colony-stimulating factor in adjuvant (AIA) and type II collagen-induced arthritis in rats. Here, MMP9 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.