The effect of therapeutic and pharmacological concentrations of tiaprofenic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), on the synthesis of the plasminogen activators, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and the plasminogen activator inhibitors 1 and 2 (PAI-1 and PAI-2), by human synovial membranes isolated from osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers was evaluated. Both forms of plasminogen activator (PA) and PA inhibitor (PAI) were synthesized by the arthritic synovium. PAI-1 and PAI-2 were both synthesized in greater amounts than the plasminogen activators. Tiaprofenic acid induced a dose-dependent decrease in uPA synthesis in both OA and RA, particularly in OA synovium, but had no true effect on tPA. Tiaprofenic acid also exerted a suppressive effect on the synthesis of PAI-1 in both OA and RA synovial membranes, and on the release of PAI-2 in RA synovium. The results of this study indicate that a decrease in uPA synthesis may be one of the mechanisms by which tiaprofenic acid could exert its effects on the arthritic process. The suppressive action of tiaprofenic acid on PAI is not likely to have a significant impact on the balance of plasminogen activators and plasminogen activator inhibitors, as plasminogen activator inhibitors are synthesized in greater amounts than plasminogen activators.