Membrane-type 1 metalloproteinase is upregulated in microglia/brain macrophages in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases

We previously reported that glioma cells induce the expression of membrane-type 1 metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP or MMP-14) in tumor-associated microglia/macrophages and promote tumor growth, whereas MMP-14 expression in microglia under physiological conditions is very low. Here, we show that the increase in MMP-14 expression is also found in microglia/macrophages associated with neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory pathologies in mouse models as well as in human biopsies or post-mortem tissue. We found that microglial/macrophage MMP-14 expression was upregulated in Alzheimer's disease tissue, in active lesions of multiple sclerosis, and in tissue from stage II stroke as well as in the corre…