Table 3.

KO animals and their effects in SCI

MMP KO or Inhibitor	Mechanism	Effects after SCI	Studies
MMP-2-/-	Elimination of MMP-2; compensatory increase in MMP-9	Reduced white matter sparing and fewer serotonergic fibres, widespread reactive astrogliosis, and impairment in locomotor recovery.	Hsu et al., 2006
MMP-9-/-	Elimination of MMP-9	Improved function recovery and reduced barrier disruption, neutrophil infiltration, neuropathic pain and inflammatory pain.	Noble et al., 2002; Kawasaki et al., 2008
MMP-12-/-	Elimination of MMP-12	Improved functional recovery, attenuation of barrier disruption, and reduces microglial/macrophages.	Wells et al., 2003

KO: Knockout; MMP: matrix metalloproteases; SCI: spinal cord injury.