Summary

Since the discovery of Carboxypeptidase U (CPU) in 1988, considerableinformation has been gathered about its biochemistryand function in physiological and pathophysiological circumstances.A variety of tools such as assays to measure proCPUand CPU, antibodies raised against (pro)CPU, selective CPU inhibitorsand knock-out mice have been developed and are currentlybeing used to explore the role of this metallocarboxypeptidasein different in vivo and in vitro settings.The knowledge thatproCPU can be activated by thrombin and plasmin, enzymeswith a key function in coagulation and fibrinolysis, and the ability of CPU to remove C-terminal lysine residues has led to thehypothesis that the proCPU/CPU pathway plays a role in the balancebetween coagulation and fibrinolysis.The maintenance ofthe equilibrium between coagulation and fibrinolysis is crucialfor normal haemostasis and disturbance of this delicate balancecan lead either to bleeding tendency or thrombosis.This reviewprovides an update on several aspects of CPU known at the moment,including an extensive overview on the clinical studies performedup till now.