VWF Antibody

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a blood glycoprotein involved in hemostasis. It is mapped to 12p13.31. The gene encodes a large multimeric glycoprotein that plays a central role in the blood coagulation system, serving both as a major mediator of platelet-vessel wall interaction and platelet adhesion, and as a carrier for coagulation factor VIII. VWF released from endothelial cell Weibel-Palade bodies bound particularly avidly to the extracellular matrix. VWF deficiency or dysfunction (von Willebrand disease) leads to a bleeding tendency, which is most apparent in tissues having high blood flow shear in narrow vessels.