The key to fibrinolysis and thrombolysis

This narrative review was written at the occasion of the "Verstraete Centennial Memorial Lecture" organized on September 15, 2025 at NEUROMED (Pozzilli, Italy) by Giovanni de Gaetano and Maria Benedetta Donati. It represents a historical account of contributions by the Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology (CMVB), KU Leuven, Belgium, founded by Marc Verstraete, to our understanding of the regulation of fibrinolysis and the development of thrombolytic therapy. This review covers the long trajectory of events which, over almost half a century, have led from basic biochemical discoveries to the development of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and other clinically valuable drugs to treat thrombotic diseases.