Functional behavior of vessels from pigs with von Willebrand disease. Values of platelet deposition are identical to those obtained on normal vessels.

Vessels from normal pigs and pigs with severe von Willebrand disease were exposed for up to 30 minutes to both nonanticoagulated and heparinized blood from normal pigs in an ex vivo perfusion system. Shear rates at the vessel surface were varied over a broad physiological range, gamma w = 212 to 3380 sec-1. The deposition of 111In-labeled platelets was determined by radiometric counting. For all shear rates and exposure times investigated, the levels of platelet deposition on de-endothelialized thoracic aorta of normal and von Willebrand disease pigs were not significantly different. Thus, the functional activity of the vessels correlated with the results obtained previously by immunofluorescence. Namely, the von Willebrand factor protein in the thoracic subendothelium of normal pigs is significantly diminished or absent and is comparable to the levels observed in von Willebrand disease pigs.