Fibrin & PLAU

Fibrin (Factor Ia) is a fibrous, non-globular protein involved in the clotting of blood. It is formed by the action of the protease thrombin on fibrinogen which causes it to polymerize. And the polymerized fibrin together with platelets forms a hemostatic plug or clot over a wound site.

This gene encodes a secreted serine protease that converts plasminogen to plasmin. The encoded preproprotein is proteolytically processed to generate A and B polypeptide chains. These chains associate via a single disulfide bond to form the catalytically inactive high molecular weight urokinase-type plasminogen activator (HMW-uPA). HMW-uPA can be further processed into the catalytically active low molecular weight urokinase-type plasminogen activator (LMW-uPA). This low molecular weight form does not bind to the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor. Mutations in this gene may be associated with Quebec platelet disorder and late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants, at least one of which encodes an isoform that is proteolytically processed. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2016]