MMP3 and rheumatoid arthritis: IL-6 acts on FLS, promoting their growth, increasing their survival, and modulating the synthesis of chemokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (43); it also described that IL-6 can influence the differentiation and survival of osteoclasts, which express matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3); thus, osteoclasts induced by IL-6 may be involved in the joint destruction of RA (44).