Title:The MMP-2/TIMP-2 System in Alzheimer Disease
VOLUME: 19 ISSUE: 6
Author(s):Hongyue Wang, Longjian Huang, Lei Wu, Jiaqi Lan, Xinhong Feng, Pingping Li* and Ying Peng*
Affiliation:State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital, Beijing 102218, China National Center for Biotechnology Development, Beijing 100039, State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050
Keywords:Matrix metalloproteinase-2, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2, Alzheimer disease, blood-brain barrier, neuroinflammation,
oxidative stress.
Abstract:Alzheimer Disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia. Pathological changes in the
AD brain include Amyloid β-protein (Aβ) plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles (NFTs), as well as extensive
neuronal and synaptic loss. Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a neutral, zinc-dependent
protease that primarily targets extracellular matrix proteins. MMP-2 activity is strictly controlled, and
its dysregulation has been implicated in a variety of pathologies, including AD. In this brief review,
we discussed the contributions of dysregulated MMP-2 activity and an imbalanced interaction between
MMP-2 and its endogenous inhibitor, Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), to AD. We
also described the underlying mechanisms of the effects of MMP-2/TIMP-2, both beneficial and detrimental,
on AD, including: (1) MMP-2 directly degrades Aβ resulting in the clearance of Aβ deposits.
Conversely, Aβ-induced MMP-2 may contribute to brain parenchymal destruction. (2) MMP-2 induces
breakdown of BBB, and this deleterious effect could be reversed by TIMP-2. (3) MMP-2 disrupts
oxidative homeostasis in AD. (4) MMP-2 has both proinflammatory/pro-angiogenetic and antiinflammatory/
anti-angiogenetic effects on AD. Besides, we discuss the clinical utility of MMP-
2/TIMP-2 as therapeutic targets for AD.
