Tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI-2), also known as matrix serine protease inhibitor or placental protein 5, contains the characteristic three Kunitz domains with short spacer sequences present in TFPI-1 []. It has inhibitory activity towards trypsin, plasmin, and factor VIIa/tissue factor through its Kunitz domain 1 (KD1) [, ]. Because of its association with the extracellular matrix, TFPI-2 is predicted to play a major role in extracellular matrix remodelling and turnover []. Reduced synthesis of TFPI-2 has been related to numerous pathophysiological processes such as inflammation, angiogenesis and tumour growth/metastasis [, ].
