Biochemistry and molecular biology of gelatinase B or matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9): The next decade

Research on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and in particular on gelatinase B, alias MMP-9, has grown exponentially in the decade 2003-2012. Structural details about flexibility of MMP-9 monomers, together with glycosylation, oligomerization, heterogeneity and instability of the wildtype enzyme explain why crystallography experiments have not yet been successful for the intact enzyme. MMP-9 may be viewed as a multidomain enzyme in which the hemopexin, the O-glycosylated and the catalytic domains yield support for attachment, articulation and catalysis, respectively. The stepwise proteolytic activation of the inactive zymogen into a catalytically active form becomes gradually better understood. Priming of…