Full-length recombinant human neutrophil pro-collagenase (MMP-8), latent form.Matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8), or neutrophil collagenase, degrades interstitial collagens, acting preferentially on collagen type I. Increased full-length MMP-8 protein was associated with infiltration into the skin of neutrophils, which are the major cell type that expresses MMP-8.MMP-8 is synthesized and stored in specific granules in neutrophil leukocytes. MMP-8 activity is therefore regulated by factors such as surface-bound ligands (IgG or complement components) that release it through degranulation.Once released and activated through proteolytic or oxidative mechanisms, MMP-8 plays a major role in the connective tissue turnover that accompanies inflammatory processes Synonyms: Neutrophil collagenase, EC 3.4.24.34, Matrix metalloproteinase-8, MMP-8, PMNL collagenase, PMNL-CL, HNC, CLG1