Thrombin is a multifunctional serine protease generated at sites of vascular injury. A host of thrombin actions on vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages has been defined in cell culture systems, but the in vivo significance of these activities is unknown. We have defined the expression of the recently identified receptor for thrombin in human arteries by both in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. In normal-appearing arteries, thrombin receptor was expressed almost exclusively in the endothelial layer. By contrast, in human atheroma, the receptor was widely expressed, both in regions rich in macrophages and in regions rich in vascular
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