Type 2N von Willebrand disease: clinical manifestations, pathophysiology, laboratory diagnosis and molecular biology

Type 2N von Willebrand disease encompasses all patients with factor VIII deficiency caused by a markedly decreased affinity of von Willebrand factor for factor VIII. It is recessively inherited and clinically similar to mild haemophilia. The differential biological diagnosis is of major importance for providing the optimal treatment and relevant genetic counselling. This accurate diagnosis is based on an evaluation of the factor VIII-binding capacity of plasma von Willebrand factor. Furthermore, molecular biology techniques allow the identification of missense mutations in the von Willebrand factor gene. All of these induce the substitution of amino acid residues located in the N terminal part of the mature von Willebrand factor molecule, which contains the factor VIII binding site. Most of them induce a classical type 2N von Willebrand disease phenotype with factor VIII deficiency but a normal level and multimeric pattern of von Willebrand factor.