New research helps us grasp the link between blood coagulation and inflammation, laying the foundation for new treatments.
This discovery could lead to the development of new therapies for people with inflammatory and blood-clotting diseases.
Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), a protein that helps blood clot, has a new role that was found through research at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. This could lead to the development of new treatments for people with inflammatory and blood clotting disorders.
The study, which was published in Nature Communications, shows that VWF is an important part of how the immune system responds when a blood vessel is hurt.
This indicates a function for the protein outside of blood clotting, specifically in the healing of injured blood vessels.
About 1 in 1,000 people in Ireland have von Willebrand disease, which is a deficiency in VWF. People who have this illness are more likely to experience severe, excessive bleeding.
However, those who have excessive amounts of protein in their blood are vulnerable to life-threatening clots.
Extreme VWF levels, for instance, have been linked to the abnormal pulmonary blood clots seen in patients with severe COVID-19.
This study demonstrates for the first time that VWF modulates local immunological responses as well as blood clotting at the site of injury.
For patients with inflammatory and blood clotting illnesses such von Willebrand Disease, deep vein thrombosis, and myocardial infarction, better understanding this novel biological role for VWF in controlling inflammatory responses could lead to the development of entirely new treatment options.
“For more than 50 years, it has been known that von Willebrand factor plays a key role in preventing bleeding by acting as a glue at the site of injury,” says lead author Professor James O’Donnell, adding, “this research now helps us to further understand the role that VWF plays in linking blood coagulation and inflammation and thereby paves the way for the development of new treatments.”
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