von Willebrand factor binding to heparin in various types of von Willebrand disease

The purpose was to study von Willebrand factor (vWF) binding to heparin in different types of von Willebrand disease (vWD).

Plasma samples from 92 patients were representative of most vWD subtypes as they included 13 type 1, ten type 2N, 27 type 2A, 23 type 2B, and 19 type 2M patients. We selected assay conditions suitable for the screening of plasma vWF concentrations as low as 15 U/dl vWF:Ag. We determined the range of vWF concentrations in plasma where the percentage of (125)I-MAb/vWF complexes bound to heparin-agarose beads was constant. This range of dilution allowed circumvention of potential competition by other plasma heparin-binding proteins.

The multimeric composition of vWF had hardly any influence on the ability of vWF to bind to heparin. Results were expressed as the ratio of heparin-binding capacity of patients' plasma to that of normal pool plasma. We found a ratio of 0.99+/-0.004 (mean+/-s.e.m.) for 23 normal individual donors. Furthermore, when comparing the mean values of plasma vWF-heparin binding ratios by ANOVA F-test in the six groups (one normal and five vWD), we found significant differences between them (P<0.0001). Pairwise comparison of multiples by the Scheffe's test indicated that the mean values of ratios in type 2A on the one hand and type 2M on the other, were significantly lower than in normal plasma, type 2N, type 2B and type 1.

Our data suggest a relationship between the ability of vWF to bind to heparin and to the platelet GPIb receptor, since type 2B and 2N patients have an increased or normal ability to bind to GPIb whereas type 2A and 2M patients have an impaired interaction with that receptor.