Immunohistochemistry of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in dibetic wound healimg
If you can express your question more clearly I may be able to help. I take it you're trying to visualize the patterns of gelatinase accumulation in the context of diabetic wounds?
Something to keep in mind is that the presence of either MMP2 or MMP9 is not necessarily evidence of their biologically relevant activity; both these MMPs are secreted as inactive zymogens (which will be immunoreactive with most antibodies directed against either antigen), but the must undergo post-translational proteolytic activation before they can begin hydrolyzing substrates. Furthermore, their activity can be inhibited by TIMPs and other endogenous inhibitors, so even if they've undergone activation, that doesn't mean they're actually doing anything.
I would suggest you consider in situ (or in vivo) zymography using DQ-gelatin substrates; this will allow you to detect actual gelatinolytic activity in your samples, rather than just the presence of gelatinases (which may be inactive zymogens, or complexed with inhibitors).
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