SERPINE1 and endothelial dysfunction: Von Willebrand factor is known to be a more specific marker of endothelial dysfunction than PAI-1 because plasma levels of vWF are exclusively produced by endothelial cells [17,18,19,20], whereas plasma levels of PAI-1 reflect its production not only in the endothelium, but also in adipose tissue and other cells such as megakaryocytes, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, monocytes and macrophages [21,22].