Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
It is long established that von Willebrand factor (VWF) is central to hemostasis and thrombosis. Endothelial VWF is stored in cell-specific secretory granules, Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs), organelles generated in a wide range of lengths (0.5-5.0 µm). WPB size responds to physiological cues and pharmacological treatment, and VWF secretion from shortened WPBs dramatically reduces platelet and plasma VWF adhesion to an endothelial surface.Objective
We hypothesized that WPB-shortening represented a novel target for antithrombotic therapy. Our objective was to determine whether compounds exhibiting this activity do exist.Methods
Using a microscopy approach coupled to automated image analysis, we measured the size of WPB bodies in primary human endothelial cells treated with licensed compounds for 24 hours.Results and conclusions
A novel approach to identification of antithrombotic compounds generated a significant number of candidates with the ability to shorten WPBs. In vitro assays of two selected compounds confirm that they inhibit the pro-hemostatic activity of secreted VWF. This set of compounds acting at a very early stage of the hemostatic process could well prove to be a useful adjunct to current antithrombotic therapeutics. Further, in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, with a considerable fraction of critically ill COVID-19 patients affected by hypercoagulability, these WPB size-reducing drugs might also provide welcome therapeutic leads for frontline clinicians and researchers.
SUBMITTER: Ferraro F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8436738 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Ferraro Francesco F Patella Francesca F Costa Joana R JR Ketteler Robin R Kriston-Vizi Janos J Cutler Daniel F DF
Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH 20201016 12
<h4>Background</h4>It is long established that von Willebrand factor (VWF) is central to hemostasis and thrombosis. Endothelial VWF is stored in cell-specific secretory granules, Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs), organelles generated in a wide range of lengths (0.5-5.0 µm). WPB size responds to physiological cues and pharmacological treatment, and VWF secretion from shortened WPBs dramatically reduces platelet and plasma VWF adhesion to an endothelial surface.<h4>Objective</h4>We hypothesized that WP ...[more]