PRODUCTION OF ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN VON WILLEBRAND FACTOR IN LAYING HENS. ISOLATION OF IMMUNOGLOBULINS AND APPLICATIONS TO THE DETECTION OF MOLECULAR DEFECTS OF VON WILLEBRAND FACTOR

Abstract

Von Willebrand disease (vWD) is an inherited disorder of primary hemostasis caused by deficiency or structural abnormalities of von Willebrand factor (vWF). VWF circulates in plasma and is also present in platelets. Plasma vWF, the carrier protein for factor VIII, is a large multimeric glycoprotein composed of identical subunits linked by disulfide bridges. Plasma and platelet vWF display distinct multimeric electrophoretic patterns. The different vWD subtypes can be classified either by the determination of vWFantigen (vWFíAg) and/or by multimer distribution. Antibodies to human vWF were raised in laying hens by intramuscular injections of purified human vWF. Immunoglobulins were isolated from egg yolks by selective polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulfate precipitations. These antibodies appeared to be monospecific, as they did not react with the plasma proteins of a patient with severe vWD. The pullets received weekly 50 μg vWF for 4 weeks and then had monthly injections. The antibodies occurred as early as the third injection, the yield being 300 to 500 mg of immunoglobulin per week (6-7 eggs). The titre could be constant over periods greater than 1 year. These immunoglobulins to vWF were tested in vWFíAg electroimmunoassays and for the multimer analysis of plasma and platelet vWF by electrophoresis and immunoblotting techniques. In no case could a difference be detected between assays performed with rabbit monospecific antiserum or with yolk immunoglobulins to human vWF. Ten to 12 multimers could be revealed for normal plasma vWF and up to 12 to 14 bands for normal platelet vWF (1.7% agarose). In the case of vWD, the electrophoresis patterns were identical with both antibodies. Thus, antibodies to vWF raised in laying hens are a suitable tool to detect and to characterize vWD. Although they do not interact with protein A, yolk antibodies are certainly advantageous to produce, as they do not contain IgM or IgA. Immunoglobulin fractions can contain up to 10 % of specific antibodies. Since they are available in larger quantities and are easy to isolate, larger homogeneous batches of antibodies can be obtained. This method may easily be applied to develop antibodies to a variety of antigens.