Our colleagues in RCSI have revealed a new role for the adhesion protein Von Willebrand Factor (VWF). In a recent article in Nature Communications led by Clive Drakeford and Sonia Aguilera from James O'Donnell's group, they showed that VWF, which normally tethers platelets to sites of vascular injury, also binds to macrophages and alters their phenotype to become pro-inflammatory. This is the first example that VWF might have signalling functions beyond cell adhesion, and links primary haemostasis to inflammation.
