To the Editor: Is von Willebrand Factor a Hormone that Regulates a Coagulation Mechanism?

摘要

A hypothesis: von Willebrand factor is a hormone that is released into the bloodstream by the vascular endothelium in accord with the tone and activity levels of the sympathetic nervous system and regulates blood coagulability as an integral part of a physiological mechanism that controls blood clot formation.A recently published hypothesis1 explains how clot formation may be initiated via elevations of "insoluble"fibrin that reduces turbulence and mixing, but it fails to explain how coagulation is localized to the site of stress or injury. I believe that von Willebrand factor (VWF) indirectly regulates blood levels of insoluble fibrin.