What is "thrombin"

Thrombin \Throm"bin\, n. [See Thrombus.] (Biochem.) The enzyme which converts fibrinogen into fibrin.

n. (context enzyme English) An enzyme in blood that facilitates blood clotting by converting fibrinogen to fibrin (by means of ionized calcium).

n. an enzyme that acts on fibrinogen in blood causing it to clot

pathways. In the blood coagulation pathway, thrombin acts to convert factor XI to XIa, VIII to VIIIa V to Va, fibrinogen to fibrin. In addition, thrombin promotes platelet activation and aggregation via activation of protease-activated receptors on the cell membrane of the platelet. Thrombin also cross over into the protein C pathway by converting protein C into APC. APC in turn converts factor V into Vi, and VIIIa into VIIIi. Finally APC activates PAR-1 and EPCR.|Role of thrombin in the blood coagulation cascade]]

Thrombin (, fibrinogenase, thrombase, thrombofort, topical, thrombin-C, tropostasin, activated blood-coagulation factor II, blood-coagulation factor IIa, factor IIa, E thrombin, beta-thrombin, gamma-thrombin) is a serine protease that, in humans, is encoded by the F2 gene. Prothrombin (coagulation factor II) is proteolytically cleaved to form thrombin in the coagulation cascade, the clotting process. Thrombin in turn acts as a serine protease that converts soluble fibrinogen into insoluble strands of fibrin, as well as catalyzing many other coagulation-related reactions.