PROCEDURES AND TESTS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT FORMS OF DISEASES AND DISORDERS CHARACTERIZED BY THROMBOCYTOPENIA AND / OR BY SPONTANEOUS INTERACTION BETWEEN THE VON WILLEBRAND FACTOR (VWF) AND THE PLATES.

摘要

- A procedure to distinguish between different states or forms of diseases and disorders characterized by thrombocytopenia and / or the spontaneous interaction between von Willebrand factor (vWF) and platelets, and / or to predict the progression of said disease or disorder, said procedure comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one biological sample containing vWF obtained from a patient suffering from, or suspected of suffering from, at least one disease or disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia and / or by the spontaneous interaction between vWF and platelets; b) determining the amount of vWF that is in a Gplb binding conformation in said biological sample; and c) comparing the amount obtained from vWF that is in a Gplb binding conformation with a reference value obtained from a patient or a group of patients with or without a different state or form of said disease or disorders; and d) in which the amount of vWF that is in a Gplb binding conformation is determined by contacting the biological sample with a binding agent that is capable of selectively binding to the vWF that is in a Gplb binding conformation in the presence of vWF that is in a non-Gplb binding conformation, and then determining the amount of vWF that is in a Gplb binding conformation bound to the binding agent. wherein the binding agent has a differentiated binding site of the Gplbα binding site, and wherein the binding agent is an antibody; a part or fragment of an antibody; or a protein or a polypeptide that contains one or more parts or fragments of an antibody.