Interaction of blood platelets with a microfibrillar extract from adult bovine aorta: requirement for von Willebrand factor.

Adult bovine aortic tissue was treated with 6 M guanidinium chloride in the presence of proteinase inhibitors to obtain an extract that was essentially devoid of collagenous components and appeared homogeneous by electron microscopy. When this extract was dispersed by sonication it was found to be a very potent inducer of human platelet aggregation. This interaction required the presence of von Willebrand factor and of its receptor (glycoprotein Ib) on platelet membrane. This was demonstrated by the fact that the aggregation of normal blood platelets resuspended in plasmas deficient in von Willebrand factor was significantly diminished as compared to aggregation in control plasma. Moreover, this aggregation was inhibited by a monoclonal antibody, IgG AN51, to platelet glycoprotein Ib. These studies provide direct biochemical evidence for the existence of a thrombogenic constituent of the vessel wall that is noncollagenous and von Willebrand factor-dependent.