Von Willebrand gene expression in damaged human liver.
OBJECTIVE
von Willebrand factor (vWf) is an adhesive glycoprotein known to play a role in hemostasis and in tissue injury. It is found in high levels in plasma of patients with acute hepatic failure and chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of tissue vWf in acute liver failure in humans.


METHODS
We studied vWf immunostaining and mRNA expression in the liver of three patients with fulminant liver failure, two patients with chronic liver disease, and two controls. PECAM-1 (CD31) immunostaining and mRNA expression were used as an additional endothelial marker.


RESULTS
In chronic liver cirrhosis, vWf deposits were strongly detected at the scar-parenchyma interface. In fulminant hepatic failure, intense deposits were seen in tissue sections in the area of necrosis. A similar pattern of immunostaining was seen with PECAM-1. vWf transcripts were abundant in the liver of patients with chronic disease and minimally expressed in patients with acute hepatic failure and in controls.


CONCLUSIONS
vWf is deposited within the liver sinusoids early after liver damage. The factor is only partially produced locally during the acute phase of the disease, but is overproduced in chronic disease states. These changes may suggest a role for vWf in liver injury and repair.
Baruch
Y
Y
Liver Unit, Rambam Medical Center and the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. ybaruch@rambam.health.gov.il
Neubauer
K
K
Ritzel
A
A
Wilfling
T
T
Lorf
T
T
Ramadori
G
G
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000235:genetics*
D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D014841:von Willebrand Factor