title: Molecular and cellular biology of von Willebrand factor.
abstract: von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a plasma protein that performs 2 main functions in hemostasis: it mediates platelet adhesion to the injured vessel wall, and it carries and protects coagulation factor VIII. VWF is synthesized through a multistep process in endothelial cells and megakaryocytes as a very large polymer composed of identical disulfide-linked 250-kd subunits. In endothelial cells, VWF not only directs the formation of its own storage granules, the Weibel-Palade bodies, but it also acts as a chaperone molecule to direct other proteins, such as P-selectin, into these granules. Upon stimulation of the endothelium, the Weibel-Palade bodies will be translocated to the plasma membrane, and their contents will be secreted into the plasma milieu. The expression of VWF can be regulated at different levels by a number of genetic and environmental factors, resulting in control of its activity. New roles for VWF, especially in inflammatory processes, have recently been suggested, indicating that some aspects of this well-studied protein remain to be investigated.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U.143, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.
authors.forename: Cécile V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Denis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001704:Biopolymers; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D005089:Exocytosis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000503:physiopathology; D006487:Hemostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000502:physiology; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009928:Organ Specificity; D019007:P-Selectin / Q000502:physiology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D051381:Rats; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014162:Transfection; D020302:Weibel-Palade Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D014842:von Willebrand Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D019007:P-Selectin; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014841:von Willebrand Factor