Objective To study the regulation of MMPs and TIMPs expression by VEGF in mouse mesangial cells (MMCs) . Methods Cultured MMCs were incubated with or without recombinant human VEGF for 12 hours. Protein levels of MMP2,MMP9,TIMP1 and TIMP2 in media were measured by Western blot analysis. MMP2 and MMP9 activities were measured by gelatin zymography. TIMP1 and TIMP2 mRNA expression in MMCs was analyzed by RT-PCR. Results VEGF(10 ng/ml) upregulated MMP2 and MMP9 protein secretion by MMCs (increased by 43% and 34% respectively, P