Research progress on the relationship between thrombin and human diseases

Thrombin is an important serine protease involved in the final step of the coagulation cascade, plays a key role in thrombosis, hemostasis and many other coagulation-related reactions. More and more studies have shown that thrombin is closely related to inflammation, involving nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, endocrine, and exercise systems. In this paper, the relevance of thrombin to various human diseases and the underlying mechanisms have been well summarized, all knowledges and information presented here will be very helpful for effective treatments for thrombin-related diseases. Key words: Thrombin; Prothrombin; Coagulation cascade; Inflammation