MMP9 and systemic sclerosis: A bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of fibroblasts derived from healthy versus SSc lung tissues revealed an expression profile similar to that of whole lung tissues, with increased expression of ECM genes, including COL1A1 and COL3A1, and fibrotic genes such as TGFB2, IGF2, IGFBP3, IGFBP5, and WNT5A, while antifibrotic genes such as MMP1, MMP9, CTSL, SFRP1, and IL33 were underexpressed in SSc lung fibroblasts [14].