The factor V Leiden (R506Q) mutation and risk of thrombosis in renal transplant recipients

Renal transplantation and chronic renal failure are associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis and myocardial infarction (MI). We investigated whether resistance to activated protein C due to a mutation in the factor V gene (FV Leiden/FV506Q) may predispose patients to thrombosis.

Three hundred patients who had undergone renal transplantation were genotyped for the FV mutation. Seventy-seven patients who had suffered thrombotic complications (42 venous, 28 arterial, and 7 both) were compared with 223 patients free of thrombosis.

Thirty-two patients had suffered early renal allograft thrombosis (30 venous), and 33 patients had suffered MI. A higher proportion of the patients with thrombosis, compared to those without, had a family history of arterial cardiovascular disease (42% vs. 26%, P=0.04). Eighteen (6%) patients were heterozygous for FV506Q and seven (39%) of these had suffered venous thrombosis (including four primary allograft thromboses), compared with 15% of the patients without the mutation (P<0.05). The odds ratio for risk of venous thrombosis for FV506Q carriers was 3.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-9.9) or 4.0 (1.2-13.8) for primary allograft thrombosis. Only one of the FV506Q carriers had suffered an MI.

Carriers of the factor V 506Q mutation with chronic renal failure who have undergone transplantation are at an increased risk of venous but not arterial thrombosis. This mutation explained 14% of all venous and 20% of primary allograft thrombosis, suggesting that other unidentified genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of thrombosis in renal transplant recipients.