Coinheritance of Factor V (FV) Leiden enhances thrombin formation and is associated with a mild bleeding phenotype in patients homozygous for the FVII 9726+5G > A (FVII Lazio) mutation

We investigated the role of thrombophilic mutations as possible modifiers of the clinical phenotype in severe factor VII (FVII) deficiency. Among 7 patients homozygous for a cross-reacting material-negative (CRM-) FVII defect (9726+5G>A, FVII Lazio), the only asymptomatic individual carried FV Leiden. Differential modulation of FVII levels by intragenic polymorphisms was excluded by a FVII to factor X (FX) gene haplotype analysis. The coagulation efficiency in the FV Leiden carrier and a noncarrier was evaluated by measuring FXa, FVa, and thrombin generation after extrinsic activation of plasma in the absence and presence of activated protein C (APC). In both patients coagulation factor activation was much slower and resulted in significantly lower amounts of FXa and thrombin than in a normal control. However, more FXa and thrombin were formed in the plasma of the patient carrying FV Leiden than in the noncarrier, especially in the presence of APC. These results were confirmed in FV-FVII doubly deficient plasma reconstituted with purified normal FV or FV Leiden. The difference in thrombin generation between plasmas reconstituted with normal FV or FV Leiden gradually decreased at increasing FVII concentration. We conclude that coinheritance of FV Leiden increases thrombin formation and can improve the clinical phenotype in patients with severe FVII deficiency. (C) 2003 by The American Society of Hematology.