Fig. 2

In Vivo Generation of MMP-Generated Neoepitopes in Inflamed Knee Joints*. Under inflammatory conditions, CRP is produced by the liver and released into the bloodstream [33]. In inflamed joints, MMPs are activated by inflammatory cytokines released by macrophages. These activated MMPs degrade CRP into the CRPM neoepitope [17]. Similarly, native collagen is clipped by Cathepsin K and activated Collagenase MMPs (1, 8 13, 14,) then processed by activated gelatinase MMPs [2, 9, 12, 17] to generate collagen neoepitopes (26-29;41). *Figure made with https://biorender.com/