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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Mar 15.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Reprod Med. 2010 Apr 22;28(3):180–203. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1251476

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Schematic diagram of pathways involving cellular injury and inflammatory-mediated regulation of proteolytic activities involving matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their regulation by several cytokines and chemokines. MMPs and their tissue inhibitors play a central role in provisional matrix degradation, cellular migration, angiogenesis, as well as tissue turnover, processes required for normal cellular/tissue regeneration and repair. Aberrant expression and activation of MMPs has been associated with various fibrinogenic and tumorigenic disorders, including leiomyomas. ECM, extracellular matrix; tPA, tissue plasminogen activator; uPA, urokinase plasminogen activator.