Matrix metalloproteinases in vascular remodeling and atherogenesis - The good, the bad, and the ugly

Vascular remodeling, defined as any enduring change in the size and/or composition of an adult blood vessel, allows adaptation and repair. On the other hand, inappropriate remodeling, including its absence, underlies the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. Since degradation of the extracellular matrix scaffold enables reshaping of tissue, participation of specialized enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has become the object of intense recent interest in relation to physiological (good) and pathological (bad) vascular remodeling. Experimental evidence acquired in vitro and in vivo suggests that the major drivers of vascular remodeling, hemodynamics, injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress, regulate MMP expression and activity. Alternatively, nonspecific MMP inhibition seems to oppose remodeling, as suggested by the inhibition of intimal thickening and outward arterial remodeling. An emerging concept is that MMP-related genetic variations may contribute to heterogeneity in the presentation and natural history of atherosclerosis. The hypothesis that MMPs contribute to weakening of atherosclerotic plaques is especially attractive for the potential development of therapeutic interventions aimed at preventing plaque disruption (the ugly), a major cause of acute cardiovascular events. However, the current lack of appropriate experimental tools, including availability of specific MMP inhibitors and pertinent animal models, still limits our understanding of the many actions and relative contributions of specific MMPs. Our future potential ability to control vascular remodeling via regulation of MMPs will also depend on reaching a consensus of what is indeed good or bad vascular remodeling, concepts that have continued to evolve and change.