Heterozygosity for a mutant dysfunctional C1 inhibitor protein, a member of the serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) superfamily, results in type II hereditary angioneurotic oedema. We identified a "hinge" region mutation in C1 inhibitor with a Val to Glu replacement at P14 Val-432. Recombinant C1 inhibitors P10 Ala-->Thr and P14Val-->Glu did not form stable complexes with fluid phase C1s or kallikrein. The P14 Val-->Glu mutant, however, was cleaved to a 96K form by C1s, while the P10 Ala-->Thr mutant was not. The recombinant P10 mutant also did not complex with C1s, kallikrein or beta-factor Xlla-Sepharose. The two mutations, therefore, result in dysfunction by different mechanisms: in one (P14 Val-->Glu), the inhibitor is converted to a substrate, while in the other (P10 Ala-->Thr), interaction with target protease is blocked.