The platelet glycoprotein Ib-V-IX system: regulation of gene expression.

Platelet glycoproteins (GPs) Ib-V-IX form the surface receptor for von Willebrand factor, and this receptor-ligand interaction mediates the shear-dependent adhesion of platelets to damaged arterial vessel walls. The receptor is a multicomponent structure consisting of four distinct polypeptides (heterodimeric GPIb: Ib alpha-Mr143k and Ib beta-Mr22k; GPV-Mr83k; GPIX-Mr20k), and each of the four cDNAs and genes has been cloned and characterized. The genes appear to have evolved from a common progenitor genomic sequence related to that encoding GPIX.