Medical Term:


Pronunciation: kal′i-krē′in

Definition: A group of enzymes (plasma, tissue, pancreatic, urinary, or submandibular kallikrein) that converts kininogen by proteolysis to bradykinin or kallidin. Trypsin and plasmin can also effect the conversion. Plasma kallikrein activates factor XII and acts on kininogen. Tissue kallikrein is a serine endopeptidase that can generate kallidin from kininogen.

Synonym(s): kininogenase, kininogenin