“…These sequential events are orchestrated by a variety of growth factors, ECM-degrading enzymes and adhesion receptors [ 73 , 74 ]. Among these molecules, MMP-9 plays a prominent role in angiogenesis by cooperating with VEGF and the αvβ3 integrin ( Table 1 ) [ 11 , 73 , 74 , 134 , 135 , 136 ]. Specifically, the MMP-9 produced by metastatic tumor cells and metastasis-infiltrating neutrophils and/or macrophages breaks down the vessel basement membrane and perivascular matrix, thereby generating ECM fragments [ 11 , 20 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 92 , 134 ].…”