{"paper_id":"830109d8-b0b7-4338-be4b-e64fe80e7c21","body_text":"Abstract\nMatrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are critical for the maintenance and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) under normal physiological conditions such as pregnancy and wound healing. However, an increase of MMPs in uterine diseases, such as adenomyosis, endometrial cancer, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids, has been observed and suspected to contribute to important pathophysiology phenotypes like invasion and migration. Of note, MMP-2 (also referred to as gelatinase A) and MMP-9 (also referred to as gelatinase B) are common gelatinases that have demonstrated increased activity in uterine diseases and in several cancer types, such as breast cancer, to promote cancerous phenotypes like increased invasion and migration. In-gel zymography is a useful technique for the detection of MMP activity via degradation of gelatin in gelatin-based gels. Using zymography, it is possible to assess the activity levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 via gelatin degradation during the zymography process. Here, we will describe the process of zymography and assessment of MMP activity levels (MMP-2 and MMP-9) for both uterine tissues and cancerous cell lines.\nAccess this chapter\nTax calculation will be finalised at checkout\nPurchases are for personal use only\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nReferences\nGranelli-Piperno A, Reich E (1978) A study of proteases and protease-inhibitor complexes in biological fluids. J Exp Med 148:223–234\nHeussen C, Dowdle EB (1980) Electrophoretic analysis of plasminogen activators in polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulfate and copolymerized substrates. Anal Biochem 102:196–202\nNikolov A, Popovski N (2021) Role of gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 in healthy and complicated pregnancy and their future potential as preeclampsia biomarkers. 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Methods Protoc 2\nAuthor information\nAuthors and Affiliations\nCorresponding author\nEditor information\nEditors and Affiliations\nRights and permissions\nCopyright information\n© 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature\nAbout this protocol\nCite this protocol\nPeterson, R., Nothnick, W.B. (2025). Assessing Gelatinase Activity in Normal and Disease Uterine Tissue and Cells Via Gelatin Zymography. In: Khalil, R.A. (eds) Zymography. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2918. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4482-9_19\nDownload citation\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4482-9_19\nPublished:\nPublisher Name: Humana, New York, NY\nPrint ISBN: 978-1-0716-4481-2\nOnline ISBN: 978-1-0716-4482-9\neBook Packages: Springer Protocols","source_license":"public-domain-us","license_restricted":false}