Plasminogen, Human Plasma

Plasmin dissolves the fibrin of blood clots and acts as a proteolytic factor in a variety of other processes including embryonic development, tissue remodeling, tumor invasion, and inflammation. Plasminogen is the inactive precursor of plasmin. Plasminogen is activated by the action of either tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which primarily activates the fibrinolytic (thrombolytic) activity of plasmin, or urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), which is associated with extracellular matrix remodeling and cell migration. Plasmin cleaves fibrin/fibrinogen and blood coagulation factors V/Va and VIII/VIIIa. It activates matrix metalloproteinases by cleaving the inactive proenzymes. It is also involved in the activation of some growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β).