MMP9 and colorectal carcinoma: Furthermore, a well-known pathogen that has been associated to CRC, Campylobacter jejuni, has recently been found to increase the CRC metastatic potential by activating the JAK2/STAT2/MMP9 axis via its secreted toxin, cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) in the primary tumor site (He et al., 2024).