Intensive care units in hospitals are overflowing with sepsis patients. These patients suffer from systemic inflammation, usually triggered by bacterial infections, but sometimes also from trauma, ischemia or burns. Despite huge investments, new therapeutics for sepsis are disappointingly few. We have robust data showing that several members of the family of proteases called MMPs are essential mediators in mouse models of sepsis. In this project, we want to generate novel tools that will allow us to detect these MMPs better, to inhibit them for therapeutic purposes, and to understand the molecular biology behind their contribution to sepsis. We hope that our results will contribute to a better understanding of sepsis and to better treatment