Deficiency of von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease activity in the plasma of malignant patients.
von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimeric pattern and von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease activity (vWF-cp) were studied using plasmas from patients with advanced stage- and limited stage-malignant tumors. Deficiency of highly polymeric forms of vWF was observed in plasmas from 7 of 11 patients tested. vWF-cp activity was deficient in plasma samples of six patients with advanced stage-malignant tumors (ranging from 6% to 30% activity of normal plasma), whereas an essentially normal vWF-cp activity was observed in samples taken from patients with limited stage-malignant tumors. Inhibitor of vWF-cp was not detected in any plasma samples tested. To further analyze the relevance of this enzymatic activity in metastatic diagnosis, a study of vWF-cp activity was conducted in 17 patients with colon cancer, and it was shown that deficiency of vWF-cp was associated with the progression of the disease.
Koo
Bon-Hun
BH
Cardiovascular Research Institute and BK21 Projects for Medical Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, South Korea.
Oh
Doyeun
D
Chung
So Young
SY
Kim
Nam Keun
NK
Park
Seonyang
S
Jang
Yangsoo
Y
Chung
Kwang-Hoe
KH
D051722:ADAM Proteins; D000071120:ADAMTS13 Protein; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D019281:Dimerization; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism
D014841:von Willebrand Factor; D051722:ADAM Proteins; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D000071120:ADAMTS13 Protein; C099604:ADAMTS13 protein, human