Acquired C1 inhibitor deficiency in a case of lymphosarcoma of the spleen. Reversal of complement abnormalities after splenectomy.

A patient with an extensive lymphosarcoma of the spleen without involvement of other lymphoid organs and hypogammaglobulinaemia showed the characteristic complement profile of an acquired C1-inhibitor deficiency. Both functional and immunochemical studies revealed extremely low levels of the inhibitor of C1-esterase. Correction of the low levels of early acting complement components and of the low C1-inhibitor level followed the splenectomy. In vitro tests showed that lymphosarcoma tissue pieces or cells were able to interact with complement, resulting in a depletion of the haemolytic activity. These findings provide evidence that tumour cells were responsible for the abnormalities of the complement system.