Defect of heparin binding in plasma and recombinant von Willebrand factor with type 2 von Willebrand disease mutations

The aim of our study was to characterise heparin-binding properties of mutated von Willebrand factor (VWF) in 24 patients plasmas with type 2 von Willebrand disease (VWD). and in 15 recombinant VWF (rVWF) with the corresponding mutations. Binding of mutated rVWF or plasma VWF was compared to that of WT-rVWF or normal pool plasma VWF. Four mutations, at positions C509, V551, R552 and R611 lead to significantly decreased binding to heparin in both plasma and rVWF. Interestingly, whereas these four residues are distant in the primary structure of VWF-A1domain, they are close to each other in its three-dimensional structure. Structural analysis suggested how folding problems and destabilisation due to these mutations could induce reorganisation of surface regions involved in heparin binding. In contrast, no heparin-binding defect was found associated with different type 2 VWF mutants, at positions G561, E596, I662, R543, R545, V553, R578 or L697.