Abnormal platelet von Willebrand factor (vWF) as a marker of abnormal function in megakaryocytic dysplasia.

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are neoplastic disorders of the hemopoietic system; multilineage involvement is also evidenced by specific cellular dysfunctions. The von Willebrand factor (vWF), synthesized and processed in the megakaryocytes (MK), is stored in the alpha granules of the platelets. The platelet vWF multimeric pattern was studied in 18 patients with MDS, and in 4 with pernicious anemia (PA), to investigate whether the processing of vWF is abnormal in the megakaryocytic dysplasia. An abnormal multimeric pattern was observed in 10/18 MDS and 4/4 PA patients. The abnormality of this specific protein is the discrete expression of the basic disorder, and is reversible when hemopoiesis is normalized. Although the data do not allow any conclusion, abnormal synthesis is the likely explantation of the abnormality.