Inflammation and tissue trauma during the surgical procedure reduce the peritoneal fibrinolytic capacity. These conditions promote adhesion formation, and are associated with increased expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1). The objective of the present study was to investigate whether TGF-beta1 regulates the expression of fibrinolytic components in peritoneal mesothelial cells. Human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) were cultured and treated with various concentrations of human recombinant TGF-beta1 (0.1, 1.0 and 10 ng/mL) for 24 h. Levels of tissue- and urokinase plasminogen activator (t-PA and uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) and type-2 (PAI-2) mRNA and protein were assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR) and ELISA, respectively. HPMC expressed these components at the gene and protein level. TGF-beta1 downregulated, dose-dependently t-PA mRNA and protein to about 50% of control values (p = 0.0010), and doubled PAI-1 protein production (p = 0.0008) compared to untreated controls. Although uPA gene expression increased in cells exposed to TGF-beta1, the corresponding protein concentration in conditioned media did not. PAI-2 was not affected, either at the gene or protein level. In conclusion, the results indicate that fibrinolytic capacity of mesothelial cells is reduced by TGF-beta1, suggesting that peritoneal adhesion formation induced by TGF-beta1 may be mediated, in part, through reduction in fibrin degradation capacity at an early stage of peritoneal tissue repair.