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Collagen serves as a structural scaffold and a barrier between tissues,and thus collagen catabolism (collagenolysis) is required to be a tightly regulated process in normal physiology.In turn,the destruction or damage of collagen during pathological states plays a role in tumor growth and invasion,cartilage degradation,or atherosclerotic plaque formation and rupture.Only a small number of proteases have been identified capable of efficient processing of triple-helical regions of collagens.Several members of the zinc metalloenzyme family,specifically matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs),possess collagenolytic activity.