Conjugation of von Willebrand factor-binding domain of platelet glycoprotein Ibα to size-controlled albumin microspheres

Albumin microspheres (AMS), of which the average diameter is 240 ± 10 nm, were prepared by pH control and heat treatment. Cytochrome c and rGPIbα; a water-soluble fragment of the α chain of a recombinant platelet glycoprotein (GP)Ib containing a von Willebrand factor (vWf)-binding site were selected as a receptor protein. Cytochrome c was used as a probe protein for monitoring. Onto the surface of the AMS and those proteins, N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP) was reacted through the amide linkage to obtain PD-AMS, PD-cytochrome c, and PD-rGPIbα, respectively. The latter two were further reduced to SH-cytochrome c and SH-rGPIbα by dithiothreitol and conjugated with PD-AMS by a thiol - disulfide exchange reaction. The resulting AMS contain cytochrome c or rGPIbα of about 25000 or 2500 molecules, respectively. The addition of ristocetin to the rGPIbα-AMS in the presence of vWf caused specific aggregation. Furthermore, the rGPIbα-AMS enhanced the ristocetin induced platelet aggregation in a low platelet concentration (4.0 × 10⁷/mL).