Vaskulárna medicína 1/2014
The analysis of vWF multimers in von Willebrand disease
Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder caused by quantitative or qualitative abnormalities of von Willebrand factor (vWF). vWF is a glycoprotein synthesized in megakaryocytes and endothelial cells. vWF is a mediator of platelet adhesion to subendothelium, the FVIII carrier, which protects it from proteolysis. The analysis of vWF multimers is of fundamental importance in diagnostics of vWD. In the article a brief report of the vWD classification and diagnostics as well as description of the analysis of vWF multimers and our experiences with their detection are presented.
Keywords: von Willebrand disease, von Willebrand factor, multimers of von Willebrand factor.
