Urokinase (overview)

Urokinase is an activator of plasminogen isolated from human urine and kidney cells and is measurable in plasma.

Urokinase is detectable in many tissues, especially in kidney cells, but also in tumours. It is a single-chain proenzyme with a molecular weight of 24,000 D (scu-PA). During its activation, the urokinase is converted into a two-chain molecule (tcu-PA), whereby the single chains are connected to each other by a single disulphide and thus activate the plasminogen in the plasma. The resulting plasmin activates the scu-PA (single chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator) to tcu-PA (two-chain urokinase plasminogen activator).

1. HA Neumann (2014) The coagulation system. ABW-Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH Berlin S. 105f.