Oxidative stress and hypoxia: Implications for plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is the major physiological inhibitor of urokinase-type and tissue-type plasminogen activators. It has gained special interest among clinicians because a number of pathological conditions, such as myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, several types of cancer, and the metabolic syndrome, as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus, are associated with increased PAI-1 levels. Interestingly, a number of these diseases are also accompanied by oxidative stress and the enhanced production of reactive oxygen species or tissue hypoxia. This article tries to summarize some aspects leading to enhanced PAI-1 production under oxidative stress or hypoxia.