Autoimmune hemolytic anemia and periodic pure red cell aplasia in systemic lupus erythematosus.

A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and autoimmune hemolytic anemia complicated by periodic episodes of red cell hypoplasia is described. Using a plasma clot culture system a serum inhibitor of erythropoiesis was detected. In addition, heat eluates of the red cells of this patient were capable of impairing erythroid colony formation. The possibility that the autoantibodies of acquired autoimmune hemolytic anemia might influence the proliferation and/or maturation of erythroid progenitor cells is raised by these findings.