We evaluated in vitro the hypothesis that bacterial adhesiveness to the mammalian extracellular matrix and the activation of plasminogen on bacterial plasminogen receptors promote bacterial penetration through basement membranes. We used the strain SH401 of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, which adheres to the high-mannose chains of laminin, a major glycoprotein of basement membranes, and expresses plasminogen receptors. Bacterium-bound plasmin was able to degrade laminin and extracellular matrix preparations as well as to potentiate the penetration of bacteria through a reconstituted basement membrane. The results suggest that metastatic tumour cells and bacterial pathogens use similar mechanisms to penetrate through tissue barriers.