VWF

One new area of research in the lab is von Willebrand factor and mutations that cause the important bleeding diathesis, von Willebrand disease. We are pursuing single molecule experiments, functional assays, electron microscopy, and crystallography to understand the complex mechanobiology of VWF, which is the largest soluble protein in the body and functions as a shear sensor in the vasculature to arrest arteriolar bleeding. The conformation of VWF, its binding to ligands on the vessel wall and on platelets, and its cleavage by ADAMTS13 are regulated by shear.