Activation of plasminogen as a feature in its assay

Seven laboratories collaborating in a study of two intermediate purity plasminogen preparations (64/23, 63/6) observed that the amount of activator (urokinase or streptokinase) and the time of activation of plasminogen influenced the amount of plasmin generated. Using casein and a synthetic polypeptide (S-2251) as substrates, the authors subsequently showed that complete activation of plasminogen was difficult to achieve without acitivity losses due to plasmin autodigestion. Comparison of the polypeptide subunits (on SDS electrophoresis) of the various plasminogen activation mixtures with their plasmin activity allowed the conclusion that at maximum generation of plasmin from plasminogen, some plasminogen remains in the form of an inactive plasminogen intermediate (PLG-i).