The association of factor VIII with von Willebrand factor

Factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) are plasma glycoproteins that circulate as a tightly associated complex. Because they tend to copurify during procedures designed to isolate the biologic activities associated with them, their identity as distinct entities became unequivocally established only during the past 10 years. Improved procedures for the isolation of FVIII, the deduction of the amino acid sequences of FVIII and vWF by using molecular cloning techniques and by direct sequencing, and the use of a variety of biophysical and immunochemical techniques have enhanced the understanding of the FVIII-vWF association. Each subunit of multimeric vWF potentially can bind a single heterodimeric FVIII molecule, although in vivo most of these binding sites are empty. The binding of FVIII to vWF is primarily, if not exclusively, mediated by the light chain of FVIII to the amino-terminal region of the vWF subunit. Cleavage of a fragment from the amino-terminal region of the FVIII light chain by thrombin results in rapid dissociation of the FVIII-vWF complex, a process that apparently is necessary for development of procoagulant activity. Whether this cleavage is needed for the activation of FVIII in the absence of vWF is controversial. The extracellular association of FVIII with vWF may be necessary for efficient secretion of FVIII from its cell of origin. The thermodynamics, kinetics, and nature of the molecular contacts involved in the interaction have not been studied. The association of FVIII with vWF prolongs the lifetime of FVIII in plasma. Whether the FVIII-vWF interaction has other functional roles, such as restricting the location of procoagulant activity, remains unknown.