Matrix metalloproteinases in vascular remodeling and atherogenesis: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Vascular remodeling, defined as any enduring change in the size and/or composition of an adult blood vessel, allows adaptation and repair. On the other hand, inappropriate remodeling, including its absence, underlies the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. Since degradation of the extracellular matrix scaffold enables reshaping of tissue, participation of specialized enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has become the object of intense recent interest in relation to physiological ("good") and pathological ("bad") vascular remodeling. Experimental evidence acquired in vitro and in vivo suggests that the major drivers of vascular remodeling,…