Fourteen human colon adenocarcinomas were examined by in situ hybridization for the presence of mRNA for plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1). All specimens contained PAI-1 mRNA in endothelial cells of some vessels in the stroma immediately surrounding the invasive tumor glands, in granulation tissue, and in some capillaries located under the free luminal surface of carcinomatous epithelium. In addition, a limited number of stromal cells in the cancerous areas located at the periphery of newly formed capillary networks, and presumably representing sprouting endothelial cells, contained PAI-1 mRNA. Cancer cells were devoid of detectable PAI-1 mRNA in all cases. PAI-1 mRNA was not seen in three biopsies of normal colon. Together with previous findings of urokinase-type plasminogen activator and its mRNA being located in fibroblast-like cells in the tumor stroma and mRNA for the urokinase receptor in the cancer cells at invasive foci, these results indicate a complex cooperativity among several cell types in regulation of plasminogen activation in colon cancer. A possible role of PAI-1 in protecting the extracellular matrix in the tumor tissue against degradation and a role in tumor-induced angiogenesis are discussed.