Assembly, Storage, and Secretion of Von Willebrand Factor.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. sci-46-sci-46
Author(s):  
J. Evan Sadler

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) plays a central role in hemostasis, and dysregulation of VWF can cause either bleeding or thrombosis. Endothelial cells assemble VWF multimers in two stages that occur in distinct intracellular compartments: proVWF subunits dimerize in the endoplasmic reticulum through “tail-to-tail” disulfide bonds between C-terminal CK domains, and the proVWF dimers form enormous multimers in the Golgi through “head-to-head” disulfide bonds between N-terminal D3 domains. The finished multimers are packaged into ordered tubules within storage organelles called Weibel-Palade bodies (WPB), and tubular packing is necessary for the secretion of VWF filaments that have normal hemostatic function. We have recreated VWF tubule assembly in vitro, starting with pure VWF propeptide (domains D1D2) and disulfide-linked dimers of adjacent N-terminal D’D3 domains. No other cellular proteins or components of WPB are needed. Assembly requires low pH and calcium ions, similar to conditions in the Golgi. Quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction of negatively stained images show that tubules contain a repeating unit of one D’D3 dimer and two propeptides arranged in a right-handed helix with 4.2 units per turn. The symmetry and location of interdomain contacts suggest that decreasing pH along the secretory pathway coordinates the disulfide-linked assembly of VWF multimers with their tubular packaging. Secretion into the blood exposes VWF tubules to neutral pH conditions, releasing the constraints that maintain tubular packing and permitting the orderly unfurling of large VWF multimers. Some VWF multimers bind platelets and initiate the growth of platelet-rich thrombi. Under normal circumstances, these thrombi are limited in size by ADAMTS13, a metalloprotease that cleaves VWF multimers and releases the platelets. The absence of large VWF multimers causes bleeding that is typical of von Willebrand disease. Conversely, congenital or acquired deficiency of ADAMTS13 prevents the dissolution of VWF-platelet aggregates, which can cause the widespread microvascular thrombosis that characterizes thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Interestingly, ADAMTS13 deficiency alone need not trigger TTP. Some patients persist for months or years without active disease but become ill whenever they suffer additional inflammatory stress associated with infection, surgery, or pregnancy. Thus, interactions between inflammatory mediators and endothelial cells can determine the course of VWF-dependent thrombosis. The mechanisms responsible for these phenomena remain poorly understood.

1992 ◽  
Vol 286 (2) ◽  
pp. 631-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Carew ◽  
E M Paleolog ◽  
J D Pearson

Secretion of von Willebrand factor (vWf) glycoprotein from storage granules in human umbilical-vein endothelial cells was studied in vitro. Either elevation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) with a Ca2+ ionophore or activation of protein kinase (PK) C by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate caused vWf secretion, and together the agents acted synergistically. However, when vWf release was stimulated by receptor-mediated agonists, selective inhibition of PKC had no effect on histamine-induced secretion and significantly elevated thrombin-induced secretion. Furthermore, ATP, which efficiently elevates [Ca2+]i in these cells, was a very poor effector of vWf release. We conclude that elevation of [Ca2+]i by physiological agonists is necessary for vWf release, but other signalling mechanisms, as yet uncharacterized, but not due to PKC activation, are required for full induction of the secretory pathway.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 291-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ren-Huai Huang ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Robyn Roth ◽  
Xiong Yu ◽  
Angie R. Purvis ◽  
...  

Abstract Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs) are elongated secretory granules of endothelial cells that are packed with tubules composed of von Willebrand factor (VWF), a multimeric protein required for hemostasis. Disruption of tubular packing prevents the orderly secretion of VWF multimers and blocks the subsequent binding of platelets. The cigar-like shape and tubular cross section of WPBs are conserved in all vertebrates, but little is known about how VWF specifies this packing arrangement. Starting from recombinant 82 kDa VWF propeptide (domains D1D2) and 114 kDa disulfide-bonded D’D3 dimer, we now have assembled tubules reversibly in vitro with the same dimensions as VWF tubules in WPBs. Assembly was induced at pH 6.2, reversed at pH 7.4, and required Ca2+. Recombinant D’D3 dimers did not self-associate at pH 7.4 or pH 6.2, with or without Ca2+. Without Ca2+, VWF propeptide did not bind to D’D3 dimers. At pH 7.4, with Ca2+, VWF propeptide formed noncovalent 160 kDa dimers and, when mixed with D’D3 dimers, assembled a 280 kDa complex of two propeptides and one D’D3 dimer as shown by gel filtration chromatography and multi-angle light scattering. Lowering the pH to 6.2 caused the formation of >3 MDa aggregates with the same stoichiometry, which dissociated upon adding EDTA or raising the pH to 7.4. Quick-freeze deep-etch EM showed that the large aggregates are hollow right-handed tubular helices. The iterative helical real space reconstruction method was used to make 3D reconstructions of the tubules at 22 Å resolution from negative stain EM images (Figure, left). Tubules consist of a right-handed helix with axial rise of 26.2 Å and twist of 85.6 degrees per subunit, or 4.2 subunits per 11 nm turn. The dimensions (outside diameter 25 nm, inside diameter 12 nm) are similar to those of tubules in WPBs in thin sections of endothelial cells by transmission EM (Figure, right and its insert). Each subunit contains one D’D3 dimer flanked by two D1D2 propeptides (Figure, center). Each D’D3 dimer makes a total of six contacts with D1D2 domains. Each D1D2 propeptide makes three contacts with D’D3 and just one end-to-end homotypic contact. The spatial arrangement of these building blocks and inter-domain contacts in tubules suggest a model by which decreasing pH along the secretory pathway coordinates the formation of intersubunit disulfide bonds with the tubular packaging of VWF multimers. Within the WPB, Ca2+-dependent and pH-dependent binding of D1D2 to D’D3 domains stabilizes the packing of VWF multimers into tubules, which behave as constrained springs. Upon secretion, the increased pH weakens these constraints and permits the helical tubules to unfurl into flowing blood without tangling. Figure Figure


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxin Zhang ◽  
Fengwu Chen ◽  
Aizhen Yang ◽  
Xiaoying Wang ◽  
Yue Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Type 3 von Willebrand disease (VWD) exhibits severe hemorrhagic tendency with complicated pathogenesis. The C-terminal cystine knot (CTCK) domain plays an important role in the dimerization and secretion of von Willebrand factor (VWF). The CTCK domain has four intrachain disulfide bonds including Cys2724-Cys2774, Cys2739-Cys2788, Cys2750-Cys2804 and Cys2754-Cys2806, and the single cysteine mutation in Cys2739-Cys2788, Cys2750-Cys2804 and Cys2754-Cys2806 result in type 3 VWD, demonstrating the crucial role of these three disulfide bonds in VWF biosynthesis, however, the role of the remaining disulfide bond Cys2724-Cys2774 remains unclear. Method and results In this study, by the next-generation sequencing we found a missense mutation a c.8171G>A (C2724Y) in the CTCK domain of VWF allele in a patient family with type 3 VWD. In vitro, VWF C2724Y protein was expressed normally in HEK-293T cells but did not form a dimer or secrete into cell culture medium, suggesting that C2724 is critical for the VWF dimerization, and thus for VWF multimerization and secretion. Conclusions Our findings provide the first genetic evidence for the important role of Cys2724-Cys2774 in VWF biosynthesis and secretion. Therefore, all of the four intrachain disulfide bonds in CTCK monomer contribute to VWF dimerization and secretion.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (04) ◽  
pp. 707-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D Blann ◽  
Charles N McCollum

SummaryThe effect of smoking on the blood vessel intima was examined by comparing indices of endothelial activity in serum from smokers with that from non-smokers. Serum from smokers contained higher levels of von Willebrand factor (p <0.01), the smoking markers cotinine (p <0.02) and thiocyanate (p <0.01), and was more cytotoxic to endothelial cells in vitro (p <0.02) than serum from non-smokers. The acute effects of smoking two unfiltered medium tar cigarettes was to briefly increase von Willebrand factor (p <0.001) and cytotoxicity of serum to endothelial cells in vitro (p <0.005), but lipid peroxides or thiocyanate were not increased by this short exposure to tobacco smoke. Although there were correlations between von Willebrand factor and smokers consumption of cigarettes (r = 0.28, p <0.02), number of years smoking (r = 0.41, p <0.001) and cotinine (r = 0.45, p <0.01), the tissue culture of endothelial cells with physiological levels of thiocyanate or nicotine suggested that these two smoking markers were not cytotoxic. They are therefore unlikely to be directly responsible for increased von Willebrand factor in the serum of smokers. We suggest that smoking exerts a deleterious influence on the endothelium and that the mechanism is complex.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (06) ◽  
pp. 1182-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich M Vischer ◽  
Claes B Wollheinn

Summaryvon Willebrand factor (vWf) is released from endothelial cell storage granules after stimulation with thrombin, histamine and several other agents that induce an increase in cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]i). In vivo, epinephrine and the vasopressin analog DDAVP increase vWf plasma levels, although they are thought not to induce vWf release from endothelial cells in vitro. Since these agents act via a cAMP-dependent pathway in responsive cells, we examined the role of cAMP in vWf secretion from cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. vWf release increased by 50% in response to forskolin, which activates adenylate cyclase. The response to forskolin was much stronger when cAMP degradation was blocked with IBMX, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterases (+200%), whereas IBMX alone had no effect. vWf release could also be induced by the cAMP analogs dibutyryl-cAMP (+40%) and 8-bromo-cAMP (+25%); although their effect was weak, they clearly potentiated the response to thrombin. Epinephrine (together with IBMX) caused a small, dose-dependent increase in vWf release, maximal at 10-6 M (+50%), and also potentiated the response to thrombin. This effect is mediated by adenylate cyclase-coupled β-adrenergic receptors, since it is inhibited by propranolol and mimicked by isoproterenol. In contrast to thrombin, neither forskolin nor epinephrine caused an increase in [Ca2+]j as measured by fura-2 fluorescence. In addition, the effects of forskolin and thrombin were additive, suggesting that they act through distinct signaling pathways. We found a close correlation between cellular cAMP content and vWf release after stimulation with epinephrine and forskolin. These results demonstrate that cAMP-dependent signaling events are involved in the control of exocytosis from endothelial cells (an effect not mediated by an increase in [Ca2+]i) and provide an explanation for epinephrine-induced vWf release.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
C L Verweij ◽  
M Hart ◽  
H Pannekoek

The von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a multimeric plasma glycoprotein synthesized in vascular endothelial cells as a pre-pro-polypeptide with a highly repetitive domain structure, symbolized by the formula:(H)-D1-D2-D'-D3-A1-A2-A3-D4-B1-B2-B3-C1-C2-(0H).A heterologous expression system, consisting of a monkey kidney cell line (C0S-1), transfected with full-length vWF cDNA, is shown to mimic the constitutively, secretory pathway of vWF in endothelial cells. The assembly of pro-vWF into multimers and the proteolytic processing of these structures is found to oro-ceed along the following, consecutive steps. Pro-vWF subunits associate to form dimers, a process that does not involve the pro-polypeptide of pro-vWF. This observation is derived from transfection of C0S-1 cells with vWF cDNA, lacking the genetic information encoding the pro-polypeptide, composed of the domains D1 and D2. Pro-vWF dimers are linked intracellularly to form a regular series of multimeric structures that are secreted and cannot be distinguished from those released constitutively by endothelial cells. The presence of the pro-polypeptide, embedded in pro-vWF, is obligatory for multimerization since the deletion mutant lacking the D1 and D2 domains fails to assemble beyond the dimer stage. It is argued that the D domains are involved in interchain interactions.


Author(s):  
И.В. Куртов ◽  
Е.С. Фатенкова ◽  
Н.А. Юдина ◽  
А.М. Осадчук ◽  
И.Л. Давыдкин

Болезнь Виллебранда (БВ) может представлять определенные трудности у рожениц с данной патологией. Приведены 2 клинических примера использования у женщин с БВ фактора VIII свертывания крови с фактором Виллебранда, показана эффективность и безопасность их применения. У одной пациентки было также показано использование фактора свертывания крови VIII с фактором Виллебранда во время экстракорпорального оплодотворения. Von Willebrand disease presents a certain hemostatic problem among parturients. This article shows the effectiveness and safety of using coagulation factor VIII with von Willebrand factor for the prevention of bleeding in childbirth in 2 patients with type 3 von Willebrand disease. In one patient, the use of coagulation factor VIII with von Willebrand factor during in vitro fertilization was also shown.


2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (07) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
D'Andra Parker ◽  
Subia Tasneem ◽  
Richard Farndale ◽  
Dominique Bihan ◽  
J. Sadler ◽  
...  

SummaryMultimerin 1 (MMRN1) is a massive, homopolymeric protein that is stored in platelets and endothelial cells for activation-induced release. In vitro, MMRN1 binds to the outer surfaces of activated platelets and endothelial cells, the extracellular matrix (including collagen) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) to support platelet adhesive functions. VWF associates with MMRN1 at high shear, not static conditions, suggesting that shear exposes cryptic sites within VWF that support MMRN1 binding. Modified ELISA and surface plasmon resonance were used to study the structural features of VWF that support MMRN1 binding, and determine the affinities for VWF-MMRN1 binding. High shear microfluidic platelet adhesion assays determined the functional consequences for VWF-MMRN1 binding. VWF binding to MMRN1 was enhanced by shear exposure and ristocetin, and required VWF A1A2A3 region, specifically the A1 and A3 domains. VWF A1A2A3 bound to MMRN1 with a physiologically relevant binding affinity (KD: 2.0 ± 0.4 nM), whereas the individual VWF A1 (KD: 39.3 ± 7.7 nM) and A3 domains (KD: 229 ± 114 nM) bound to MMRN1 with lower affinities. VWF A1A2A3 was also sufficient to support the adhesion of resting platelets to MMRN1 at high shear, by a mechanism dependent on VWF-GPIbD binding. Our study provides new information on the molecular basis of MMRN1 binding to VWF, and its role in supporting platelet adhesion at high shear. We propose that at sites of vessel injury, MMRN1 that is released following activation of platelets and endothelial cells, binds to VWF A1A2A3 region to support platelet adhesion at arterial shear rates.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2711-2711
Author(s):  
Reinhard Schneppenheim ◽  
Olivier Marggraf ◽  
Heike Eckert ◽  
Tobias Obser ◽  
Florian Oyen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Multimer analysis of von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a most important technique to classify patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) type 2. Besides “classical” multimer patterns a “smeary” appearance of individual VWF oligomers is increasingly observed and has previously been regarded as a pre-analytical artifact. Objective: To phenotypically and genotypically assess the molecular background of “smeary” VWF multimers. Patients and methods: Samples of 8 VWD patients were analyzed in our reference lab (UB) for further classification and molecular testing. Multimer profiles were assessed by intermediate resolution gels. VWF:CB and VWF:GpIb binding were used as functional assays. VWF gene mutation analysis was performed in all index cases (IC). The causal relationship between genotype and phenotype was studied by analyzing recombinant mutants in comparison to wildtype VWF. Results: In all IC the phenotype correlated with particular mutations in the VWF D3 domain (G1172D), the A1 domain (R1315C, R1374S, R1374C, R1399C), the D4 domain (C2257R), the C1 domain (R2464C) and in the region close to the CK domain (C2671Y), respectively. The multimer patterns of recombinant mutant VWF was of a “smeary” appearance and closely resembled those of mutant plasma VWF. Mutations in the A1 domain additionally correlated with severe GpIb binding deficiency. Conclusions: Our data suggest a molecular cause of the “smeary” multimer structure rather than pre-analytical artifacts. Most of the mutations identified involved cysteine residues suggesting an influence on the VWF secondary structure which is determined by intra- and intermolecular disulfide bonds. This could explain the peculiar multimer appearance. The functional deficits, however, seem to depend on the location of the mutations with a significant impact on GpIb binding of mutants in the A1 domain.


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