DETECTION OF POLYMORPHISMS IN THE HUMAN UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR GENE

Expressed polymorphisms in the genes encoding components of the fibrin olytic cascade could have implications for the predisposition to throm bolytic disorders and/or for tumor metastasis. The occurrence of publi shed two amino acid sequences at position 194 of the human urokinase-t ype plasminogen activator prompted us to search by SSCP for frequent p olymorphisms in several exons of the gene. Surprisingly, only one sequ ence was detected in codon 194 (>200 alleles). Two polymorphisms were observed in this study: the most frequent one, a C to T change near th e beginning of exon 8, is probably silent; a less frequent polymorphis m results in the replacement of a Leu residue by a Pro, in the kringle domain.