Imbalance of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and its specific inhibitor (PAI-1) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis associated with disease activity.

The relationship between plasma fibrinogen, D-dimer (DD), t-PA and PAI-1 and their correlation with disease activity (DA) were studied in 45 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (group B) to further understand the implication of fibrinolysis in the pathophysiology of RA. The control group constituted 24 healthy subjects (group A). A Stoke index (SI) of DA was assigned to each patient.

Plasma tetranectin levels and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: We investigated alterations of levels of plasma tetranectin, a new regulator of plasminogen activation, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to disease activity and other fibrinolytic variables.

Methods: Tetranectin (TN), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) were quantitatively assessed (ELISA) in plasma of 41 patients with RA and 30 healthy subjects, alpha 2-Antiplasmin activity was assessed by the amidolytic method. Disease activity was determined as a composite Stoke Index, which measures inflammatory processes in RA.