A family with factor X deficiency from Argentina: a compound heterozygosis because of the combination of a new mutation (Gln138Arg) with an already known one (Glu350Lys)

The objective was to investigate a family from Argentina. The proposita was a 51-year-old woman who had a moderate bleeding tendency. Some of her children showed a mild bleeding tendency. Her mother and the husband were asymptomatic. Clotting, immunological and molecular biology techniques were used. Partial thromboplastin, prothrombin, Russell Viper venom-clotting times were moderately prolonged in the proposita, whereas they were slightly prolonged in the children and in her mother. Factor X (FX) activity was about 2–3% of normal in all assay systems. FX antigen was less than 5%. Other clotting factors and plateletwere normal. Genetic analysis showed a compound heterozygosis: combination of a ‘new’ mutation (Gln138Arg) with an already known mutation (Glu350Lys). The children had intermediate FX levels (35–63% of normal) and were carriers of one of the two mutations present in the proposita. This is the first observation of a FX deficiency in Argentina.