Recent advances in the biochemistry of the fibrinolytic system

In the last decades, tremendous advances have been made in the elucidation of the biochemical mechanism of the fibrinolytic system. The activators of plasminogen have been accurately characterized and the mechanism of the activation reaction studied in great details. Recently four new inhibitors of the plasminogen activators have been identified, their biochemical and physiological properties are under study. Although the various roles of plasmin, only its function in the lysis of fibrin will be considered in this review.