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Neuronal death in the central nervous system demonstrates a non-fibrin substrate for plasmin

S E Tsirka1, T H Bugge, J L Degen

  • 1Department of Pharmacology, University Medical Center at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8651, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 2, 1997
PubMed

Insights

Mice lacking plasminogen are resistant to neurodegeneration. Surprisingly, this resistance persists even without fibrinogen, indicating plasmin acts on non-fibrin targets in the central nervous system.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Plasminogen deficiency in mice reverses pathologies linked to fibrinogen.
  • Plasminogen's primary role was thought to be fibrin clearance.
  • Plasminogen-deficient mice show resistance to excitotoxin-induced neurodegeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if plasminogen's neuroprotective effect depends on fibrinogen.
  • To determine if plasmin acts on non-fibrin substrates in neurodegeneration.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic manipulation of mice to create single and double deficiencies for plasminogen and fibrinogen.
  • Assessment of resistance to excitotoxin-induced neurodegeneration in these mouse models.

Main Results:

  • Mice lacking both plasminogen and fibrinogen were resistant to neurodegeneration.
  • This resistance was comparable to that observed in plasminogen-deficient mice.
  • Plasminogen's role in neurodegeneration is not solely dependent on fibrinogen clearance.

Conclusions:

  • Plasmin targets substrates other than fibrin during experimental neuronal degeneration.
  • Plasmin may play a significant role in other central nervous system pathologies.
  • Further research is needed to identify non-fibrin targets of plasmin in the brain.

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