The progression of CKD, even in stages where the decline of renal function is still moderate, is associated with an increase in MMP-9 activity, which could be considered as a potential therapeutic target.
On the contrary higher stages of chronic kidney disease (OR 1.93 [1.15-3.23], p = 0.012) and the presence of MMP-9 GG-genotype were independently associated with DN (OR 6.07 [1.60-22.99], p = 0.008).
ClC-5 upregulation ameliorates renal fibrosis via inhibiting NF-κB/MMP-9 pathway signaling activation, suggesting that ClC-5 may be a novel therapeutic target for treating renal fibrosis and chronic kidney disease.