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The Ashwell receptor, the major lectin of hepatocytes, rapidly clears from blood circulation glycoproteins bearing glycan ligands that include galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine. This asialoglycoprotein receptor activity remains a key factor in the development and administration of glycoprotein pharmaceuticals, yet a biological purpose of the Ashwell receptor has remained elusive. We have identified endogenous ligands of the Ashwell receptor as glycoproteins and regulatory components in blood coagulation and thrombosis that include von Willebrand factor (vWF) and platelets. The Ashwell receptor normally modulates vWF homeostasis and is responsible for thrombocytopenia during systemic Streptococcus pneumoniae infection by eliminating platelets desialylated by the bacterium's neuraminidase. Hemostatic adaptation by the Ashwell receptor moderates the onset and severity of disseminated intravascular coagulation during sepsis and improves the probability of host survival., The liver controls the removal of exogenously administered glycoproteins from circulation, as discovered over 35 years ago (1-4). These classical investigations identified the first vertebrate lectin as a hepatic receptor [...]

Clearance of platelets by the liver can help counteract the dangerous blood coagulation that can occur during sepsis. The mechanism involves clearance of platelets through the liver's Ashwell receptor, which [...]

Platelets accumulate on the downstream face of a developing blood clot after local changes in blood flow. These findings offer new insights into how platelets pile up at sites of [...]

Acute bacterial infection leading to sepsis affects over half a million individuals annually in the United States. Available therapies have been primarily supportive, and mortality rates still hover at 30-50% [...]

Author(s): Shaun P Jackson [1]; Anna C Calkin [2] One of the major obstacles to increased longevity is atherosclerosis, an inflammatory disorder that leads to fibrous, fatty lesions in the [...]

The correlation between blood flow characteristics and the development of central venous thrombosis in 10 patients requiring long term central venous catheterization are studied using Doppler ultrasound. Results show that an intravascular foreign body will not affect blood flow characteristics in the upper body veins. Turbulent blood flow is also not a determinant of the development of intravascular thrombus.

In order to study the influence of the fat content of food on the occurrence of thrombosis in the arterial and venous system, a group of 133 hospital patients aged [...]