Purification of Vitronectin

This unit describes the purification of extracellular vitronectin from plasma or serum by using heparin-affinity chromatography. First, the plasma is depleted of fibronectin plus other heparin- and Sepharose-binding proteins and treated with urea to activate the heparin-binding activity of vitronectin, which is subsequently bound to a heparin affinity column and eluted. The resulting vitronectin should be ∼98% pure. Curr. Protoc. Cell Biol. 60:10.6.1-10.6.7. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.