Changes in extracellular matrix in different stages of colorectal cancer and their effects on proliferation of cancer cells

Figure 3 Expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-3 in normal tissue and colorectal cancer. A: Western blot showing up-regulated expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and down-regulated expression of TIMP-3 in colorectal tissues; B: The expression of MMP-2 increased with increased tumor stage; C: The expression of MMP-9 in the colorectal cancer tissues was higher than that in the normal tissue and it was highest in the stage III colorectal cancer; D: The expression of TIMP-3 decreased with increased tumor stage.