Summary
Coumarins, which are thought to stimulate macrophage proteinase activity, have been advocated for the treatment of high protein oedemas, such as obstructive lymphoedema. In experiments with cultured murine macrophages, coumarin and 7-hydroxycoumarin (10−3 or 10−4 M) had no significant effect on plasminogen-activator activity, plasminogen-independent fibrinolytic activity or pinocytosis. Although no in vitro effect on macrophage proteinase activity was found, it is possible that coumarins acitvate other cell types in vivo and thus effectively treat lymphoedema.
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Knight, K.R., Vairo, G., Hamilton, J.A. et al. Coumarins: macrophage proteinase production and pinocytosis. Res. Exp. Med. 192, 99–103 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02576263
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02576263