Summary
Degradation of 125I-labelled fibrin monomers and 125I-fibrinogen in streptokinase-activated plasma was investigated. Release of the label
proceeded at a much higher rate from soluble fibrin monomer complexes than from fibrinogen
until ca. 70% of the label was recovered in the serum. It is concluded that the fibrinolytic
system has an essentially higher affinity to monomers than to fibrinogen, but that
the specificity of the monomers as substrate may be limited to the early steps of
degradation. It is suggested that the preferential splitting of fibrin monomer complexes
may be important in the body’s defence against pathological fibrin formations derived
from paracoagulable fibrin.