Alpha 2-antiplasmin is a serine protease inhibitor (serpin) responsible for inactivating plasmin

Plasmin

Plasmin is an important enzyme present in blood that degrades many blood plasma proteins, most notably, fibrin clots. The degradation of fibrin is termed fibrinolysis. In humans, the plasmin protein is encoded by the PLG gene.- Function :...

, an important enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that participates in fibrinolysis

Fibrinolysis

Fibrinolysis is a process that prevents blood clots from growing and becoming problematic. This process has two types: primary fibrinolysis and secondary fibrinolysis...

 and degradation of various other proteins. This protein is encoded by the SERPINF2 gene.

Role in disease

Very few cases (<20) of A2AP deficiency have been described. As plasmin degrades blood clots, impaired inhibition of plasmin leads to a bleeding tendency, which was severe in the cases reported.

Interactions

Alpha 2-antiplasmin has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with Plasmin

Plasmin

Plasmin is an important enzyme present in blood that degrades many blood plasma proteins, most notably, fibrin clots. The degradation of fibrin is termed fibrinolysis. In humans, the plasmin protein is encoded by the PLG gene.- Function :...

 and Neutrophil elastase.

External links

• The MEROPS
  Merops
  Merops may refer to:* Merops , a genus of bee-eaters.* MEROPS, an on-line database for peptidases.It may also refer to several figures from Greek mythology:* King of Ethiopia, husband of Clymene, who lay with Helios and bore Phaethon...
  
  online database for peptidases and their inhibitors: I04.023