STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF HUMAN VWF DOMAINS

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The lengths of Von Willebrand factor (VWF) concatamers correlate with hemostatic potency. After secretion in plasma, length is regulated by hydrodynamic shear force-dependent unfolding of the A2 domain, which is then cleaved by a specific protease. The 1.9 [unreadable] crystal structure of the A2 domain demonstrates evolutionary adaptations to this shear sensor function. Unique among VWF A (VWA) domains, A2 contains a loop in place of the [unreadable]4 helix, and a cis-proline. The central [unreadable]4-strand is poorly packed, with multiple sidechain rotamers. The Tyr-Met cleavage site is buried in the [unreadable]4-strand in the central hydrophobic core, and the Tyr structurally links to the C-terminal [unreadable]6-helix. The [unreadable]6-helix ends in two Cys residues, which are linked by an unusual vicinal disulfide bond that is buried in a hydrophobic pocket. These features may narrow the force range over which unfolding occurs, and may also slow refolding. Von Willebrand disease mutations, which presumably lower the force at which A2 unfolds, are illuminated by the structure.