A role for von Willebrand factor in immune tolerance induction in patients with haemophilia A and inhibitors?

Towards personalised therapy for von Willebrand disease: a future role for recombinant products

von Willebrand disease (VWD) is reportedly the most common bleeding disorder and is caused by deficiencies and/or defects in the adhesive plasma protein von Willebrand factor (VWF). Functionally, normal VWF prevents bleeding by promoting both primary and secondary haemostasis. In respect to primary haemostasis, VWF binds to both platelets and sub-endothelial matrix components, especially collagen, to anchor platelets to damaged vascular tissue and promote thrombus formation. VWF also stabilises and protects factor VIII in the circulation, delivering FVIII to the site of injury, which then facilitates secondary haemostasis and fibrin formation/thrombus stabilisation. As a result of this, patients with VWD suffer a bleeding diathesis reflective of a primary defect caused by defective/deficient VWF, which in some patients is compounded by a reduction in FVIII. Management of VWD, therefore, chiefly entails replacement of VWF, and sometimes also FVIII, to protect against bleeding. The current report principally focuses on the future potential for "personalised" management of VWD, given the emerging options in recombinant therapies. Recombinant VWF has been developed and is undergoing clinical trials, and this promising therapy may soon change the way in which VWD is managed. In particular, we can envisage a personalised treatment approach using recombinant VWF, with or without recombinant FVIII, depending on the type of VWD, the extent of deficiencies, and the period and duration of treatment.

Successful immune tolerance induction consisting of high-dose factor VIII rich in von Willebrand factor and pulsed intravenous immunoglobulin: a case report

INTRODUCTION

The development of factor VIII inhibitors is a serious complication of replacement therapy in patients with congenital hemophilia A. Immune tolerance induction has been accepted as the only clinically proven treatment allowing antigen-specific tolerance to factor VIII. However, some of its issues, such as patient selection, timing, factor VIII dosing, use of immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory procedures, still remain the subject of debate.

CASE PRESENTATION

A case of a 3-year-old Caucasian boy with severe congenital hemophilia A, intron 22 inversion of the F8 gene and high-titer inhibitor, who underwent an immune tolerance induction according to the modified Bonn regimen (high doses of plasma-derived factor VIII rich in von Willebrand factor and pulsed intravenous immunoglobulin) is presented. The treatment lasted for 13 months and led to the eradication of inhibitor.

CONCLUSION

Addition of intravenous immunoglobulin did not negatively affect the course of immune tolerance induction and led to the rapid eradication of factor VIII inhibitor.