Epsilon Aminocaproic Acid — A Dangerous Weapon

Of the body's defenses against injury, the proteolytic activity of plasmin, an enzyme that can evolve in plasma from an inert precursor, plasminogen, is most intriguing. Clinical attention has been centered upon the digestion of fibrin by plasmin, but this enzyme also digests other clotting factors, converts the first component of complement to its active form, C'l esterase, releases a leukotoxic fragment from the third component of complement, generates biologically active polypeptides, inactivates various peptide hormones and hydrolyzes gamma globulins. As might be anticipated, normal plasma is richly inhibitory against plasmin, presumably as a protective device.In the laboratory, plasminogen . . .