Rat glomerular epithelial cells were grown to confluency on semipermeable tissue culture inserts and the plasminogen system of these cells was analyzed using enzyme assays, Western analysis, zymography, and reverse transcriptase-PCR. The glomerular epithelial cells are capable of activating exogenous plasminogen to plasmin by endogenous plasminogen activators. The cells produce both tissue-plasminogen activator and urokinase-plasminogen activator with urokinase being the prominent activator. Both activators are present primarily on the basolateral side of the cells with urokinase found primarily at the cell surface presumably bound to its receptor and tissue-plasminogen activator found primarily in the matrix secreted by the cells on the semipermeable insert. The cells also produce plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and urokinase-plasminogen activator receptor. Inhibition of plasminogen activation occurred with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, anti-catalytic anti-tissue-plasminogen activator antibody, epsilon-aminocaproic acid, which inhibits the binding of plasminogen through its lysine binding sites, and amiloride, which specifically inhibits urokinase.