Plasma VWF multimer pattern obtained by electrophoresis of denatured, nonreduced samples in a 1.2% agarose gel containing 0.1% SDS.

After running, fixing, and washing, multimers were detected by¹²⁵I–anti-VWF polyclonal antibody. At the top are large multimers, at the bottom the small forms. (A) Proband's pattern (1) compared with normal plasma (NP) and a type 1 VWD (2). (B) The father's pattern (3) compared with NP. The patterns in A and B represent different gels electrophoresed under the same experimental conditions. In the proband and his father only the first 6 to 7 oligomers are detectable, even though to a lesser extent than the normal counterpart and type 1 VWD, whereas the higher forms appear as a continuous smear.