Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are stimulated by proteolytic cleavage of their extracellular domain. Coagulation proteases, such as FVIIa, the binary TFFVIIa complex, free FXa, the ternary TF-FVIIa-FXa complex and thrombin, are able to stimulate PARs. Whereas the role of PARs on platelets is well known, their function in na€ ıve monocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is largely unknown. This is of interest because PAR-mediated interactions of coagulation proteases with monocytes and PBMCs in diseases with an increased activation of coagulation may promote inflammation. To evaluate PAR-mediated inflammatory reactions in na€ ıve monocytes and PBMCs stimulated with coagulation proteases. For this, PAR expression at protein and RNA level on na€ ıve monocytes and PBMCs was evaluated with flow cytometry and RT-PCR. In addition, cytokine release (IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-a) in stimulated na€ ıve and PBMC cell cultures was determined. In this study, it is demonstrated that na€ ıve monocytes express all four PARs at the mRNA level, and PAR-1, -3 and -4 at the protein level. Stimulation of na€ ıve monocytes with coagulation proteases did not result in alterations in PAR expression or in the induction of inflammation involved cytokines like interleukin-1b (IL-1b), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8, interleukin-10 or tumour necrosis factor-a. In contrast, stimulation of PBMCs with coagulation proteases resulted in thrombin-mediated induction of IL-1b and IL-6 cytokine production and PBMC cell proliferation in a PAR-1-dependent manner. These data demonstrate that na€ ıve monocytes are not triggered by coagulation proteases, whereas thrombin is able to elicit pro-inflammatory events in a PAR-1-dependent manner in PBMCs.