An Unbalance Between von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS13 in Acute Liver Failure: Implications for Hemostasis and Clinical Outcome

Abstract

Highly elevated levels of VWF in plasma of patients with ALI/ALF support platelet adhesion, despite a relative loss of function of the molecule. Furthermore, low ADAMTS13 activity is associated with progressive liver failure in the patient cohort, which might be attributed to platelet-induced microthrombus formation in the diseased liver resulting from a substantially unbalanced VWF/ADAMTS13 ratio.