Von Willebrand Factor polyclonal antibody

VWF (Von Willebrand factor) is a multimeric plasma glycoprotein that promotes adhesion of platelets to sites of vascular injury . Mature circulating VWF is made up of disulfide-bonded multimers that are in a complex with factor VIII . VWF is stored in secretory Weibel-Palade bodies in endothelial cells . It is synthesized as a large precursor protein and undergoes extensive posttranslational modifications including dimerization in the endoplasmic reticulum followed by cleavage of the pro-peptide and multimerization in the Golgi apparatus . VWF is important in hemostasis, and genetic defects in the structure and modification of VWF can cause von Willebrand disease (VWD), the most common congenital bleeding disorder in humans . Alternatively, increased levels of VWF have been shown to be involved in acute coronary thrombosis and are a clinical risk marker for atherosclerosis . VWF has also been shown to have a role in inflammation, functioning as an adhesive site for a variety of leukocyte subsets . Through siRNA experiments and the use VWF-deficient mice, it has also been shown that VWF regulates angiogenesis.