Role of platelet membrane glycoproteins and von Willebrand factor in adhesion of platelets to subendothelium and collagen.

Development of in vitro perfusion systems and quantitative methods to evaluate various aspects of platelet-surface interactions have helped to elucidate some complex interactions in platelet adhesion and platelet-platelet cohesion. The importance of platelet GPs in these interactions was soon evident, and rapid progress in biochemistry and immunology has made it possible to study the roles of these GPs in more detail. From our studies, which made use of platelets with GP deficiencies, MAbs, purified vWF, proteolytic fragments of vWF, a synthetic peptide, and in vitro perfusion systems, it appeared that GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa function as receptors for vWF, which binds platelets to connective tissue at sites of vascular lesions (FIGURE 8). More detailed information about these interactions is expected in the near future when bioengineered products are available for testing in flow models and in other experimental approaches.