Journal
CURRENT VASCULAR PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 15, Issue 5, Pages 404-415Publisher
BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.2174/1570161115666170201114835
Keywords
Von Willebrand factor; atherothrombosis; platelets; acute coronary syndromes; microvascular disease; valvular heart disease; antithrombotic therapy
Funding
- Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research [FIRB RBFR12W5V5]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Despite recent advances, there is still an unmet need in antithrombotic therapy. New drugs have to overcome old targets, looking for new complementary strategies to counteract thrombus formation and propagation. Since its initial recognition in the 50' s, von Willebrand Factor (VWF) has proved to be a contributor in clot formation. The contribution of VWF to platelet adhesion and aggregation is pivotal at high shear rates (i.e. microcirculation and critical artery stenosis), where globular-inactive-VWF elongates in a long chain- active conformation. Particularly, at sites of plaque erosion/disruption the activation of VWF may contribute critically to post-stenotic thrombus formation. In this context, VWF is a potential target of antithrombotic therapies. The plasma concentration of VWF increases in high risk population and predicts cardiovascular (CV) outcome. VWF demonstrates an emerging role in different clinical settings; for example, in valvular heart disease where it has been recently proposed as a new fluido-dynamic marker of disease severity and a predictor of successful correction. Drugs used in daily clinical practice (LMWHs, statins, N-acetylcysteine, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors) may have an unselective antagonism on the VWF-pathway. Recently, several tailor-made inhibitors of VWF have been investigated. In animal models and clinical studies monoclonal antibodies, aptamers and nanobodies have been demonstrated to directly interfere with the VWF pathway. These studies proved the powerful antithrombotic property and the acceptable level of safety of this strategy. Conclusion: We provide an overview of the drugs that a have a role in VWF-antagonism, illustrating how they might become a potential option to overcome current limitations of antithrombotic therapy.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available