Structural highlights
Disease
[VWF_HUMAN] Defects in VWF are the cause of von Willebrand disease type 1 (VWD1) [MIM:193400]. A common hemorrhagic disorder due to defects in von Willebrand factor protein and resulting in impaired platelet aggregation. Von Willebrand disease type 1 is characterized by partial quantitative deficiency of circulating von Willebrand factor, that is otherwise structurally and functionally normal. Clinical manifestations are mucocutaneous bleeding, such as epistaxis and menorrhagia, and prolonged bleeding after surgery or trauma.[1] [2] Defects in VWF are the cause of von Willebrand disease type 2 (VWD2) [MIM:613554]. A hemorrhagic disorder due to defects in von Willebrand factor protein and resulting in impaired platelet aggregation. Von Willebrand disease type 2 is characterized by qualitative deficiency and functional anomalies of von Willebrand factor. It is divided in different subtypes including 2A, 2B, 2M and 2N (Normandy variant). The mutant VWF protein in types 2A, 2B and 2M are defective in their platelet-dependent function, whereas the mutant protein in type 2N is defective in its ability to bind factor VIII. Clinical manifestations are mucocutaneous bleeding, such as epistaxis and menorrhagia, and prolonged bleeding after surgery or trauma. Defects in VWF are the cause of von Willebrand disease type 3 (VWD3) [MIM:277480]. A severe hemorrhagic disorder due to a total or near total absence of von Willebrand factor in the plasma and cellular compartments, also leading to a profound deficiency of plasmatic factor VIII. Bleeding usually starts in infancy and can include epistaxis, recurrent mucocutaneous bleeding, excessive bleeding after minor trauma, and hemarthroses.
Function
[VWF_HUMAN] Important in the maintenance of hemostasis, it promotes adhesion of platelets to the sites of vascular injury by forming a molecular bridge between sub-endothelial collagen matrix and platelet-surface receptor complex GPIb-IX-V. Also acts as a chaperone for coagulation factor VIII, delivering it to the site of injury, stabilizing its heterodimeric structure and protecting it from premature clearance from plasma.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Unusually large von Willebrand factor (ULVWF), the first responder to vascular injury in primary hemostasis, is designed to capture platelets under the high shear stress of rheological blood flow. In type 2M von Willebrand disease (VWD), two rare mutations (G1324A and G1324S) within the platelet GPIbalpha binding interface of the VWF A1 domain impair the hemostatic function of VWF. We investigate structural and conformational effects of these mutations on the A1 domain's efficacy to bind collagen and adhere platelets under shear flow. These mutations enhance the thermodynamic stability, reduce the rate of unfolding, and enhance the A1 domain's resistance to limited proteolysis. Collagen binding is not significantly affected indicating that the primary stabilizing effect of these mutations is to diminish the platelet binding efficiency under shear flow. The enhanced stability stems from the steric consequences of adding a side chain (G1324A) and additionally a hydrogen bond (G1324S) to H1322 across the beta2-beta3 hairpin in the GPIbalpha binding interface which restrains the conformational degrees of freedom and the overall flexibility of the native state. These studies reveal a novel rheological strategy in which the incorporation of a single glycine within the GPIbalpha binding interface of normal VWF enhances the probability of local unfolding that enables the A1 domain to conformationally adapt to shear flow while maintaining its overall native structure.
Mutational constraints on local unfolding inhibit the rheological adaptation of von Willebrand factor.,Tischer A, Campbell JC, Machha VR, Moon-Tasson L, Benson LM, Sankaran B, Kim C, Auton M J Biol Chem. 2015 Dec 16. pii: jbc.M115.703850. PMID:26677223[3]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Allen S, Abuzenadah AM, Hinks J, Blagg JL, Gursel T, Ingerslev J, Goodeve AC, Peake IR, Daly ME. A novel von Willebrand disease-causing mutation (Arg273Trp) in the von Willebrand factor propeptide that results in defective multimerization and secretion. Blood. 2000 Jul 15;96(2):560-8. PMID:10887119
- ↑ Bodo I, Katsumi A, Tuley EA, Eikenboom JC, Dong Z, Sadler JE. Type 1 von Willebrand disease mutation Cys1149Arg causes intracellular retention and degradation of heterodimers: a possible general mechanism for dominant mutations of oligomeric proteins. Blood. 2001 Nov 15;98(10):2973-9. PMID:11698279
- ↑ Tischer A, Campbell JC, Machha VR, Moon-Tasson L, Benson LM, Sankaran B, Kim C, Auton M. Mutational constraints on local unfolding inhibit the rheological adaptation of von Willebrand factor. J Biol Chem. 2015 Dec 16. pii: jbc.M115.703850. PMID:26677223 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.703850
