Immunological specificity and mechanism of action of IgG lupus anticoagulants

Although observations have implied that lupus anticoagulants have immunologic specificity toward anionic phospholipids, this assumption has been directly demonstrated in only one patient with a monoclonal IgM paraprotein. We tested the generality of this hypothesis directly by isolating five IgG lupus anticoagulants from patients with lupuslike syndromes and/or thrombosis. IgG lupus anticoagulant fractions were isolated free of other plasma proteins and free of contaminating phospholipid by adsorption to and elution from cardiolipin-cholesterol- dicetyl phosphate liposomes, followed by chromatography on protein A- Sepharose. Cardiolipin liposomes, but not phosphatidylcholine liposomes, were capable of removing all, or nearly all, lupus anticoagulant activity from patient plasma. The affinity-purified IgG preparations reacted with cardiolipin, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid, but not with phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylethanolamine, and inhibited calcium- dependent binding of prothrombin and of factor X to phosphatidylserine- coated and to cardiolipin-coated surfaces. F(ab')2 fragments retained lupus anticoagulant activity and bound to cardiolipin in an enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anticardiolipin and lupus anticoagulant activity were both present in acidic fractions on isoelectric focusing. These data strongly suggest that most, if not all, lupus anticoagulants are antibodies that have immunologic specificity towards anionic phospholipids, thereby blocking the calcium- mediated binding of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors to coagulation-active phospholipid surfaces.