Endothelial cell processing of von Willebrand proteins.

The endothelial regulation of vWF synthesis, storage, regulated and constitutive release, and now binding are the focus of numerous research laboratories. The understanding of these phenomena is important to the pathophysiology of local hemostasis. Although the structural understanding of the relationship of vW AgII to vWF is now known, its functional role in synthesis, release, or function is yet to be clearly defined.