Analysis of intrinsic fibrinolysis in human plasma induced by dextran sulfate

The analysis of normal human plasma by fibrin autography revealed four species of plasminogen activator (PA) activity related to tissue-type PA, factor XII, prekallikrein and urokinase-type PA (u-PA). The u-PA activity increased significantly by incubating plasma with dextran sulfate. This increase was coincident with both the cleavage of factor XII and the complex formation of activated factor XII with its plasma inhibitors, which were determined by immunoblotting procedure. The dextran sulfate-dependent activation of u-PA required both factor XII and prekallikrein, but did not require either plasminogen or factor XI. High molecular weight kininogen was required only at a low concentration of dextran sulfate. Thus the results indicate that the factor XII and prekallikrein-mediated activation of single chain u-PA (scu-PA) operates as a major pathway of scu-PA activation in whole plasma in contact with dextran sulfate.