Summary
The effects of bradykinin on coagulation and fibrinolysis have been studied both “in vitro” and “in vivo” in man. “In vitro” bradykinin employed at different concentrations does not affect the coagulation and fibrinolysis processes in any appreciable way. Bradykinin, intraarterially injected in man in the dose of 10 y, does not modify coagulation studied both with global investigations (thrombelastogram, recalcification time) and with analytical researches (Quick’s time, activation test of intrinsic thromboplastin, thrombin generation test and thromboplastin test, thrombin time, determination of antithrombin II and III). Bradykinin instead produces an activation of fibrinolysis both in the thrombelastographic investigation and in the lysis time of euglobulins. The decrease in the activity of the proactivator and of plasminogen supports our view that bradykinin produces an activation of the fibrinolytic system by liberating tissue kinases which act on the proactivator. The authors have discussed the physiological and physiopathological significance of the observed findings.