Seminar “Computer simulations of von Willebrand factor mechano-chemical role in primary hemostasis”
18 June, 16:30.
At the first stage of hemostatic and thrombotic processes in arteries and microvessels, platelets attach to the damaged surface using blood plasma protein - von Willebrand factor (VWF). This initial platelet aggregation provides the basis for further blood clot growth, biochemical reactions of coagulation of blood plasma and stopping bleeding. In this work, we used the principle of multiscale modeling to test a number of hypotheses regarding the relationship between the mechanochemical properties of VWF and its hierarchical molecular structure. A set of computer models has been developed that describe the dynamics of VWF multimers in the hydrodynamic flow of a viscous fluid using a combination of the molecular dynamics method and the method of lattice Boltzmann equations. It was shown that the most important parameter determining the behavior of the model is the contour length of the multimer: the more dimers in the composition of the macromolecule, the lower the shear stress the adhesion of VWF to platelets is activated. It was also shown that the activation of a protein attached to the wall requires significantly lower shear stress (lower blood flow velocity) than for free. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (19-02-00480, 19-31-70002), Russian Science Foundation (17-71-10150) and 5-100 (RUDN) program.
Speaker
Belyaev Aleksey, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics, Chair of Biphysics, Senior Research Fellow.
Topic: Computer simulations of von Willebrand factor mechano-chemical role in primary hemostasis.