Acquired factor XI inhibitors in two patients with hereditary factor XI deficiency

Two patients with hereditary factor XI deficiency developed inhibitors following plasma transfusions. Neither had severe spontaneous bleeding. The patients' plasmas neutralized both factor XI in plasma, purified factor XI, and purified factor XIa. The inhibitor in both patients' plasmas adsorbed to Protein A-Sepharose. The inhibitors eluted from Protein A-Sepharose were partially neutralized by kappa and lambda light chain antisera indicating that they were polyclonal IgG antibodies. Both inhibitors markedly decreased adsorption of factor XI to glass surfaces. The cleavage of factor XI by trypsin was unaffected by the inhibitors. The lack of severe spontaneous bleeding in both of these patients strongly suggests that an alternate coagulation mechanism bypassing factor XI must compensate for this severe defect.