MMP-28
MMP-28 (epilysin) is one of the most recently added human matrixins and departs from the cancer-associated reputation of the family: it is constitutively expressed in healthy epithelia, with the strongest signals in lung, testis, keratinocytes and the gastrointestinal tract. The enzyme is upregulated during cutaneous wound repair, where it influences re-epithelialization, and mouse studies indicate that it modulates macrophage behavior, favoring tissue-protective resolution over inflammation. Loss or dysregulation of MMP-28 has been connected with impaired wound healing and with hyperproliferative skin conditions. Structurally it retains the canonical pro-domain, catalytic domain and hemopexin domain, yet its restricted epithelial expression makes it a distinctive marker among matrix metalloproteinases.
