Summary
Collagen cofactor (CCo), an activity of von Willebrand factor (vWF) which increases
the rate of adhesion of human fixed washed platelets (FWP) to collagen, was measured
in plasma from normal individuals and individuals with von Willebrand’s disease (vWD).
CCo in vWD plasma was compared to vWF antigen (vWF:Ag), ristocetin cofactor (RCo),
factor VIII (VIII) coagulant activity (VIII:C) and the quantitative bleeding time.
There was close correlation between CCo and VIII:C (r = 0.909), vWF:Ag (r = 0.975),
and RCo (r = 0.936). However, there was no correlation between CCo and the quantitative
bleeding time. Plasma CCo in type IIA vWD was markedly lower than vWF: Ag and the
ratio of CCo/vWF: Ag was 0.08, which was less than a mean value of 0.92 in type I
vWD. CCo activity in normal plasma was completely inhibited by monoclonal antibody
CLB-RAg 201, an antibody that inhibits the binding of vWF to collagen, suggesting
that the binding of vWF to collagen is required for the expression of CCo. Furthermore,
the partial inhibition of CCo by monoclonal antibody CLB-RAg 35 that inhibits the
binding of vWF to platelet in the presence of ristocetin, suggests that CCo is partly
mediated through platelet membrane glycoprotein Ib. Large multimers of vWF:Ag in normal
plasma were preferentially absorbed by collagen. These studies demonstrate that CCo
is another functional activity of vWF and the measurement of CCo may be useful for
the detection of new variant forms of vWD.
Keywords
Platelt - von Willebrand factor - Collagen - Collagen cofactor - Platelet adhesion
