Multiple MMPs are detected in the collagen implants by RT-PCR.

Total RNA was extracted from collagen implants harvested from embryos at 66 hours. Reverse transcription reactions were performed with or without Superscript reverse transcriptase. The PCR products were analyzed by 2% agarose gel and detected by ethidium bromide staining. Single bands of 375 bp and 469 bp were detected in RT-PCR using cMMP-16 (lane 1) or cMMP-13 (lane 3) gene-specific primers, respectively. In contrast, no bands could be amplified from control samples containing no reverse transcriptase but containing either cMMP-16 (lane 2) or cMMP-13 (lane 4) gene-specific primers. The PCR products in lanes 1 to 3 were cloned and sequenced and manifest 100% homology with chicken MMP-16 and MMP-13, respectively. Lane M is 50-bp ladder DNA size marker.