Secretion of von Willebrand factor by endothelial cells links sodium to hypercoagulability and thrombosis.

ABSTRACT: Hypercoagulability increases risk of thrombi that cause cardiovascular events. Here we identify plasma sodium concentration as a factor that modulates blood coagulability by affecting the production of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a key initiator of the clotting cascade. We find that elevation of salt over a range from the lower end of what is normal in blood to the level of severe hypernatremia reversibly increases vWF mRNA in endothelial cells in culture and the rate of vWF secretion from them. The high NaCl increases expression of tonicity-regulated transcription factor NFAT5 and its binding to promoter of vWF gene, suggesting involvement of hypertonic signaling in vWF up-regulation. To elevate NaCl in vivo, we modeled mild dehydration, subjecting mice to water restriction (WR) by feedi

SUBMITTER: Dmitrieva NI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4035979 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature