title: What are the roles of metalloproteinases in cartilage and bone damage?
abstract: A role for metalloproteinases in the pathological destruction in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and the irreversible nature of the ensuing cartilage and bone damage, have been the focus of much investigation for several decades. This has led to the development of broad spectrum metalloproteinase inhibitors as potential therapeutics. More recently it has been appreciated that several families of zinc dependent proteinases play significant and varied roles in the biology of the resident cells in these tissues, orchestrating development, remodelling, and subsequent pathological processes. They also play key roles in the activity of inflammatory cells. The task of elucidating the precise role of individual metalloproteinases is therefore a burgeoning necessity for the final design of metalloproteinase inhibitors if they are to be employed as therapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Box 139, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2XY, UK. gm290@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001168:Arthritis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology*; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019714:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D019714:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases; D045726:Metalloproteases