The major functions of plasminogen (Plg) in fibrinolysis and cell migration depend on its binding to carboxy-terminal lysyl residues. The ability of plasma carboxypeptidase B (pCPB) to remove these residues suggests that it may act as a suppressor of these Plg functions. To evaluate this role of pCPB in vivo, homozygote pCPB-deficient mice were generated by homologous recombination, and the res...

It is difficult to differentiate benign and malignancy in polypoid lesions of the gallbladder (PLG) by solely depending on imaging studies. Therefore clinicopathologic features of benign and malignant polyps are compared in an attempt to identify the risk factors of malignant polypoid lesions. The medical records of 291 patients who were confirmed to have PLG through cholecystectomy were review...

This experiment was conducted for evaluating the humoral immune responses induced by Poly Lactide-co-Glycolide Acid (PLGA) microspheres coupled inactivated Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) vaccine in comparison to an ‘in-house’ prepared inactivated and a live commercial vaccine. PLG microparticles containing inactivated NDV were prepared by a double emulsion technique based on solvent evaporation ...

The abundant proteolytic plasminogen (Plg)/plasmin system is important in several physiological functions in mammals and also engaged by a number of pathogenic microbial species to increase tissue invasiveness or to obtain nutrients. This paper reports that a commensal bacterium, Lactobacillus crispatus, interacts with the Plg system. Strain ST1 of L. crispatus enhanced activation of human Plg ...

Invasive bacterial pathogens can capture host plasminogen (Plg) and allow it to form plasmin. This process is of medical importance as surface-bound plasmin promotes bacterial spread by cleaving tissue components and favors immune evasion by degrading opsonins. In Staphylococcus aureus, Plg binding is in part mediated by cell surface fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs), but the underlying mole...

The effects of a single 1-min extraction with chloroform (CHCl3) on plasma fibrinolytic activity has been examined by 125I-fibrin solid phase assay, using normal plasma and plasma depleted of plasminogen (PLG) by lysine-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Fibrinolytic activity of normal plasma is increased (40%-175%), and more than 95% of antiplasmin activity is removed. The increase is demonstr...

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is expressed at elevated levels in atherosclerotic human arteries, primarily in macrophages. Plasminogen (Plg), the primary physiologic substrate of uPA, is present at significant levels in blood and interstitial fluid. Both uPA and Plg have activities that could affect atherosclerosis progression. Moreover, correlations between increased Plg activatio...

OBJECTIVE Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a widespread therapeutic agent for stimulation of hematopoietic progenitor and stem cell (HPSC) mobilization from bone marrow (BM). Plasminogen (Plg) has been shown to be critical for HPSC mobilization. Here, we investigated the role of Plg in G-CSF-induced HPSC mobilization and the underlying mechanism. METHODS AND RESULTS By using g...

Extracellular proteolysis by the plasminogen/plasmin (Plg/plasmin) system and MMPs is required for tissue injury in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We demonstrate that a Plg cascade synergizes with MMP-9/gelatinase B in vivo during dermal-epidermal separation in an experimental model of bullous pemphigoid (BP), an autoimmune disease. BP was induced in mice by antibodies to the hemidesmoso...

Cellular proliferation and tissue remodeling are central to the regenerative response after a toxic injury to the liver. To explore the role of plasminogen in hepatic tissue remodeling and regeneration, we used carbon tetrachloride to induce an acute liver injury in plasminogen-deficient (Plg(o)) mice and nontransgenic littermates (Plg(+)). On day 2 after CCl(4), livers of Plg(+) and Plg(o) mic...