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Structure and Function of the VWF Helical Tubule Required for Hemostasis

Award Number: F30HL162128
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2025
AWARD TERMINATION DATE: 08/31/2026

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Structure and Function of the VWF Helical Tubule Required for Hemostasis - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common bleeding disorder worldwide, is caused by mutations in von Willebrand Factor (VWF), a large multidomain protein. In the blood, VWF circulates as a long multimer of head- to-head disulfide linked dimers of mature VWF. These long multimers are critical for VWF function as they give circulating VWF polyvalency for activating and binding platelets at sites of endothelial injury, forming a hemostatic plug to staunch bleeding. Additionally, long VWF multimers stabilize coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) in the blood. To form these long multimers, crucial for normal hemostasis, VWF forms helical tubules in the low pH of the late- Golgi and Weibel-Palade bodies (WPB). The helical tubule templates the disulfide bond formation needed to form long multimers by positioning D3 domains in close proximity. At the same time, VWF’s prodomain is cleaved, generating the mature VWF that binds FVIII in the blood. Aberrancy in these maturation steps due to VWF mutations causes several VWD subtypes. Despite the importance of the helical tubule for VWF multimerization, the high-resolution structure of the helical tubule is not known. This fellowship proposal aims to determine structures of VWF helical tubules at three stages of maturation, test Type 2A VWD mutations for causing short tubules, and interrogate the implications of prodomain cleavage for FVIII-VWF tubule association. In Aim 1, using a C-terminally truncated VWF construct, a high-resolution structure of the VWF tubule before and after head-to-head disulfide bonds form will be determined using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and helical reconstruction. Using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and subtomogram averaging, a three- dimensional reconstruction of the in situ VWF tubule will be determined to test if the close packing of VWF helical tubules inside the native WPB environment has consequences for the molecular structure of VWF in the tubule. Guided by this structural insight, a subset of VWD mutations will be tested for their effect on robust tubule formation and normal VWF multimer length. Aim 2 will determine the structural rearrangements in VWF upon prodomain cleavage and test if the cleaved tubule can bind FVIII. This research will elucidate the molecular mechanism of VWF head-to-head disulfide bond formation, necessary for VWF multimerization and normal hemostasis. Structural characterization of the VWF tubule will lead to a molecular understanding of VWD caused by inefficient multimerization. Identification of FVIII-VWF tubule binding will provide a novel context to understand their association and inform therapeutic efforts to modulate FVIII-VWF binding before secretion into the blood. A preliminary VWF tubule reconstruction indicates that additional data collection will allow atomic model building. This research will be carried out under the sponsorship of Dr. Timothy Springer, experienced in structural characterization of VWF, and Dr. Alan Brown, an expert in cryo-EM, creating a strong training environment for predoctoral physician-scientist training.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = -$23,966 )
2026	2025	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	4	8/31/2026	TERMINATION	-$23,966
														Subtotal = -$23,966

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $54,538 )
2025	2025	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	001	4	7/28/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$564
2025	2025	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	4	3/25/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$53,974
														Subtotal = $54,538

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $35,161 )
2024	2024	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	001	3	8/29/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,280
2024	2024	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	3	1/17/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$33,881
														Subtotal = $35,161

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $39,638 )
2023	2023	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	2	1/31/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$38,696
2023	2023	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	001	2	4/17/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$942
														Subtotal = $39,638

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $38,696 )
2022	2022	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	002	1	6/7/2022	NEW	$0
2022	2022	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	001	1	6/7/2022	NEW	$716
2022	2022	PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE	25 SHATTUCK ST	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	1	2/5/2022	NEW	$37,980
														Subtotal = $38,696

Grand Total All Awards = $144,067

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Structure and Function of the VWF Helical Tubule Required for Hemostasis

Award Number: F30HL162128

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2025

AWARD TERMINATION DATE: 08/31/2026

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