Is von Willebrand factor (vWF) a good marker for endothelial cells?
Von Willebrand factor (vWF) is commonly associated with endothelial cells, as it is stored in Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs), which are endothelial‑specific secretory granules.
However, there are important limitations to consider:
vWF expression is highly dynamic
Its expression strongly depends on culture conditions, particularly:
WPBs containing vWF are more closely linked to the formation of a confluent endothelial monolayer than to endothelial cell identity per se.
Because of this variability, vWF is not a robust standalone quality control marker for endothelial cells, especially when comparing different lots or culture conditions. For these reasons, routine testing of vWF expression for every endothelial cell lot is not strictly necessary and should be interpreted with caution.
Further reading
Howell et al.; Mol Membr Biol. 2004 Nov-Dec;21(6):413
However, there are important limitations to consider:
vWF expression is highly dynamic
Its expression strongly depends on culture conditions, particularly:
- Cell confluence
- Passage number
- Overall cellular activation state
WPBs containing vWF are more closely linked to the formation of a confluent endothelial monolayer than to endothelial cell identity per se.
Because of this variability, vWF is not a robust standalone quality control marker for endothelial cells, especially when comparing different lots or culture conditions. For these reasons, routine testing of vWF expression for every endothelial cell lot is not strictly necessary and should be interpreted with caution.
Further reading
Howell et al.; Mol Membr Biol. 2004 Nov-Dec;21(6):413
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