Advance on Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Inhibitors in Gynecology

Matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) and tissue inhibitor of metaalloproteinases(TIMPs) can regulate the composition and degration of extracellular matrix,then take part in many physiogical and pathological processes in vivo.They have a periodical change in endometrium and are related to menstruation and fetal implant.They play important roles in the mechanisms of endometriosis.The abnormally higher expression of MMPs in malignant gynecological tumors is essential to the invasion and metastasis of the cancer cells.