Computer modelling of initial platelet adhesion during microvascular thrombosis

Hemostasis is one of the most important protective mechanisms that functions to maintain vascular integrity and prevent bleeding. In arterial and microvascular circulation, where the near-wall shear stress is relatively high, the hemostatic response begins with aggregation of platelets on the injured endothelium or collagen. Regulation of hemostasis and thrombosis is immensely complex, as it depends on the blood cell adhesion and fluid dynamics. A possible regulatory mechanism relies on the coil-stretch transitions in a plasma protein - vonWillebrand factor - that serves as a ligand to platelet adhesive membrane receptors. In this work, the initial stages of thrombus growth are studied using a 3D computer model that explicitly accounts for the shear-dependent vWf conformation.