MMP8 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: By employing ELISAs, western blotting, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to quantify MMP-8 levels in blood and lung samples from IPF patients versus controls, Craig VJ et al., 2014, investigated MMP-8 plasma levels in 73 IPF patients and concluded that blood and lung MMP8 level is increased in IPF [26].