Controlling von Willebrand factor as a treatment for stroke

Developing the von Willebrand factor cleaving protease, ADAMTS13, as a treatment for stroke

Although stroke patients can be given blood thinning agents to prevent platelets plugging together, they are at risk of the serious side effect of bleeding and also having more strokes in the future. Professor David Lane and colleagues from Imperial College London will investigate an important molecule called von Willebrand factor which could be crucial in the development of a new treatment for stroke. A stroke occurs because a blood clot in an artery prevents blood flow – and therefore oxygen – reaching the brain, with devastating consequences. A blood clot is made up of small blood cells called platelets which clump together to form a plug. Von Willebrand factor is a protein in the circulatory system that can cause such clumping at the site of an injured blood vessel. Professor Lane and team want to understand more about other molecules in the circulatory system which may control the activity of the von Willebrand factor – specifically those that might decrease the activity. Looking in mice, the team have found one – an enzyme called ADAMTS13 which breaks up von Willebrand factor so it no longer works. This enzyme could be developed into a drug to use in patients who have just had a stroke, as it could limit damage to the brain by breaking up the clot.