Thrombosis, a major cause of deaths in this modern era responsible for 31% of all global deaths reported by WHO in 2017, is due to the aggregation of
fibrin in blood vessels which leads to
myocardial infarction or other
cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Classical agents such as anti-platelet, anti-
coagulant drugs or other
enzymes used for
thrombosis treatment at present could leads to unwanted side effects including
bleeding complication,
hemorrhage and
allergy. Furthermore, their high cost is a burden for patients, especially for those from low and middle-income countries. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop novel and low-cost drugs for
thrombosis treatment. Fibrinolytic
enzymes, including
plasmin like
proteins such as
proteases,
nattokinase, and
lumbrokinase, as well as
plasminogen activators such as
urokinase plasminogen activator, and
tissue-type plasminogen activator, could eliminate thrombi with high efficacy rate and do not have significant drawbacks by directly degrading the
fibrin. Furthermore, they could be produced with high-yield and in a cost-effective manner from microorganisms as well as other sources. Hence, they have been considered as potential compounds for
thrombosis therapy. Herein, we will discuss about natural mechanism of fibrinolysis and
thrombus formation, the production of fibrinolytic
enzymes from different sources and their application as drugs for
thrombosis therapy.