Plasminogen activator system and vascular disease

Suzanne M. Nicholl, Elisa Roztocil, Mark Davies

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

84 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, thromboembolic disorders and stroke, in addition to surgical procedures such as restenosis, all share the plasminogen activator system as a central component in the pathogenesis of vascular injury. Since the development of plasminogen deficient mice our knowledge of the effects of this proteolytic system in cardiovascular disease has vastly increased. The plasminogen activator system plays a key role in vascular homeostasis and constitutes a critical response mechanism to cardiovascular injury. The central components of the PA system are the proteolytic activators, urokinase-plasminogen activator (u-PA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasminogen (plg) and its degradation product, plasmin, together with the major inhibitors of this system, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and -2 (PAI-1, PAI-2). An extensive network of additional proteases, inhibitors, receptors and modulators directly associate and are influenced by the PA system, the largest group being the Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their respective inhibitors the Tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPS).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)101-116
Number of pages16
JournalCurrent Vascular Pharmacology
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

Keywords

  • Plasminogen activators
  • Urokinase
  • Vascular disease

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Pharmacology

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