Thromb Haemost 1997; 77(05): 0938-0943
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1656081
Coagulation
Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart

Restricted Epitope Specificity of Anti-FVIII Antibodies that Appeared during a Recent Outbreak of Inhibitors

Jean Guy G Gilles
The Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
,
Kathelijne Peerlinck
The Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
,
Jef Arnout
The Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
,
Jos Vermylen
The Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
,
Jean-Marie R Saint-Remy
The Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Publikationsverlauf

Received 19. Februar 1996

Accepted after resubmission 15. Januar 1997

Publikationsdatum:
11. Juli 2018 (online)

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Summary

We recently described an outbreak of anti-factor VIII (FVIII) antibodies in a population of haemophilia A patients non-responsive to FVIII (1). To find out what part of the FVIII molecule had been altered, we purified specific anti-FVIII antibodies from the plasma of the five patients showing high titres of inhibitors. An average of 100 µg antibodies per ml of initial plasma was recovered by immunoadsorption on insolubilised FVIII. The antibodies followed the normal isotypic distribution, including the presence of specific IgG2 antibodies; the relative increase in IgG4 that is usually observed in patients with long-standing inhibitors, was not present. The regions of FVIII to which human antibodies bound were determined by a competition assay using a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies: two major regions were identified, one located in the A2 heavy chain domain, and the other made of determinants of both the A3 and C2 light chain domains. Affinity-purified antibodies inhibited the function of FVIII as determined in a chromo- genic assay. However, variations existed in the affinities with which antibodies bound to soluble FVIII. This study shows that the immu- nogenicity of two particular regions of FVIII has been altered. A screening for alterations located in these two regions should possibly be included in the preclinical evaluation of FVIII concentrates.