Inhibition of tissue plasminogen activators and urokinase by human saliva.

The fibrinolytic activity found in body fluids is mediated through the generation of plasmin from plasminogen by plasminogen activator. Mixed fresh human saliva was found to have plasminogen activator inhibitory activity that has not yet been characterized. In the present study, mixed fresh human saliva was found to contain an inhibitor for tissue plasminogen activator and for urokinase. The plasminogen activator inhibitory activity was mainly found in the mixed fresh human saliva cellular pellet containing buccal epithelial cells and not in the supernatant salivary fluid. Saliva collected by Stenson's duct cannulation does not have any PA-inhibitor activity, although saliva collected from submandibular glands contains small amounts of such activity. The salivary plasminogen activator inhibitor is unstable, and its activity is lost during storage.