scholarly journals INTERACTIONS OF THE COMPLEMENT SYSTEM WITH ENDOTOXIC LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE

1968 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Snyderman ◽  
H. Gewurz ◽  
S. E. Mergenhagen

Endotoxic lipopolysaccharide has recently been shown to fix large amounts of the complement components related to the biologic activities mediated by that system. The present study sought to determine whether the generation of chemotactic factor by endotoxin in serum was dependent upon complement system activation. Preheating serum, incubating at 0°C, or incubating in the presence of EDTA, all prevented chemotactic factor generation as well as complement fixation by endotoxin. "Endotoxoids" deficient in complement-firing activity were also deficient in chemotactic factor generation. Chemotactic factor could not be generated by endotoxin in sera of mice congenitally deficient in the C'S component of complement, while chemotactic factor was generated by endotoxin in the sera of coisogenic mice with normal complement levels for that species. The chemotactic factor induced by endotoxin was heat stable and nondialyzable. Molecular sieve chromatography and sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation demonstrated that the chemotactic factor was a relatively low molecular weight product (15,000–30,000) and as such different from previously scribed C' system-derived chemotactic factors. These experiments demonstrate that generation of chemotactic factor by endotoxin in serum is dependent upon C' system activation involving at least C'5. Furthermore, the relatively low molecular weight of this factor suggests that it might be derived from activation of a single complement component rather than from complexing of multiple complement components.

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 824
Author(s):  
Valarmathy Murugaiah ◽  
Praveen M. Varghese ◽  
Nazar Beirag ◽  
Syreeta De Cordova ◽  
Robert B. Sim ◽  
...  

The complement system represents a crucial part of innate immunity. It contains a diverse range of soluble activators, membrane-bound receptors, and regulators. Its principal function is to eliminate pathogens via activation of three distinct pathways: classical, alternative, and lectin. In the case of viruses, the complement activation results in effector functions such as virion opsonisation by complement components, phagocytosis induction, virolysis by the membrane attack complex, and promotion of immune responses through anaphylatoxins and chemotactic factors. Recent studies have shown that the addition of individual complement components can neutralise viruses without requiring the activation of the complement cascade. While the complement-mediated effector functions can neutralise a diverse range of viruses, numerous viruses have evolved mechanisms to subvert complement recognition/activation by encoding several proteins that inhibit the complement system, contributing to viral survival and pathogenesis. This review focuses on these complement-dependent and -independent interactions of complement components (especially C1q, C4b-binding protein, properdin, factor H, Mannose-binding lectin, and Ficolins) with several viruses and their consequences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Copenhaver ◽  
Chack-Yung Yu ◽  
Robert P. Hoffman

Introduction: Increased systemic inflammation plays a significant role in the development of adult cardiometabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. The complement system is a part of the innate immune system and plays a key role in the regulation of inflammation. Of particular importance is the activation of complement components C3 and C4. C3 is produced primarily by the liver but is also produced in adipocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells, all of which are present in adipose tissues. Dietary fat and chylomicrons stimulate C3 production. Adipocytes in addition to producing C3 also have receptors for activated C3 and other complement components and thus also respond to as well as produce a target for complement. C3adesArg, also known as acylation stimulation factor, increases adipocyte triglyceride synthesis and release. These physiological effects play a significant role in the development of metabolic syndrome. Epidemiologically, obese adults and non-obese adults with cardiometabolic disease who are not obese have been shown to have increased complement levels. C4 levels also correlate with body mass index. Genetically, specific C3 polymorphisms have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events and. D decreased C4 long gene copy number is associated with increased longevity. Conclusion: Future research is clearly needed to clarify the role of complement in the development of cardiovascular disease and mechanisms for its action. The complement system may provide a new area for intervention in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases.


1973 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Giorgini ◽  
F. L. De Lucca

Instability of 28S rRNA of Crotalus durissus terrificus liver was observed during hotphenol extraction: purified 28S rRNA is converted into an 18S RNA component by heat treatment. It was also found that ‘6S’ and ‘8S’ low-molecular-weight RNA species were released during the thermal conversion. This conversion and the release of the low-molecular-weight species were also induced by 8m-urea and 80% (v/v) dimethyl sulphoxide at 0°C. Evidence is presented that this phenomenon is an irreversible process and results from the rupture of hydrogen bonds. The 18S RNA product was shown to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The base composition of the 18S RNA products obtained by heat, urea or dimethyl sulphoxide treatments was similar. The C+G content of the 18S RNA product was different from that of the native 18S rRNA, but similar to that of 28S rRNA.


1954 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 400-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Burton ◽  
F. J. Sowden ◽  
A. G. Lochhead

A procedure is described for the production and concentration of the 'terregens factor' (TF), a bacterial growth promoting substance synthesized by Arthrobacter pascens and essential for the growth of Arthrobacter terregens. From culture filtrates of A. pascens cultivated in a medium of inorganic salts and sucrose, concentrates of TF may be obtained that are active at 0.001 μgm. Per ml., heat stable and contain about 12.7% nitrogen. Acid hydrolysis yielded a number of amino acids, including glutamic acid, glycine, α–alanine, valine, leucine, proline, lysine, and arginine, as well as some unidentified compounds; however, TF does not appear to be a low molecular weight straight chain peptide.Although TF contains no iron, it combines readily with ferrous or ferric iron to form reddish-brown complexes with this metal. Activity for A. terregens is shown by certain iron containing complexes as hemin, coprogen, and ferrichrome. On the other hand none is shown by cytochrome or pulcherrimin; however, aspergillic acid, structurally related to the latter, possesses some growth promoting activity for the test organism.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 787-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Suzuki ◽  
Yasuo Yoshioka ◽  
Etsuko Kitano ◽  
Tatsunobu Yoshioka ◽  
Hiroaki Oka ◽  
...  

Cell therapy is expected to relieve the shortage of donors needed for organ transplantation. When patients are treated with allogeneic or xenogeneic cells, it is necessary to develop a means by which to isolate administered cells from an immune attack by the host. We have developed “cytomedicine, ” which consists of functional cells entrapped in semipermeable polymer, and previously reported that alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate microcapsules and agarose microbeads could protect the entrapped cells from injury by cellular immunity. However, their ability to isolate from humoral immunity was insufficient. It is well known that the complement system plays an essential role in rejection of transplanted cells by host humoral immunity. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to develop a novel cytomedical device containing a polymer capable of inactivating complement. In the screening of various polymers, polyvinyl sulfate (PVS) exhibited high anticomplement activity and low cytotoxicity. Murine pancreatic β-cell line (MIN6 cell) entrapped in agarose microbeads containing PVS maintained viability and physiological insulin secretion, replying in response to glucose concentration, and resisted rabbit antisera in vitro. PVS inhibited hemolysis of sensitized sheep erythrocytes (EAs) and rabbit erythrocytes by the complement system. This result suggests that PVS inhibits both the classical and alternative complement pathways of the complement system. Next, the manner in which PVS exerts its effects on complement components was examined. PVS was found to inhibit generation of C4a and Ba generation in activation of the classical and alternative pathways, respectively. Moreover, when the EAC1 cells, which were carrying C1 on the EAs, treated with PVS were exposed to C1-deficient serum, hemolysis decreased in a PVS dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that PVS inhibits C1 in the classical pathway and C3 convertase formation in the alternative pathway. Therefore, PVS may be a useful polymer for developing an anticomplement device for cytomedical therapy.


Complement is the essential effector mechanism in humoral immunity to infection. Combination of antibody with antigen causes cross-linking, leading to precipitation of soluble antigens and agglutination of particular antigens, but no more. Unless complement is also present, agglutinated microorganisms can, in appropriate media in vitro grow out and form as lethal a culture as if not reacted with antibody. That this is also true in vivo is apparent from experience with patients with inherited deficiencies in complement components. The pattern is complex because of the presence of two pathways of activation, but in the rare cases of deficiency of the third component, C3, which is central to both pathways, the individuals are susceptible to repeated bacterial infections similar to aggammaglobulinaemics who are unable to synthesize antibodies. Both antibodies and complement are essential for effective humoral immunity.


1986 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Diegelmann ◽  
G. Schuller-Levis ◽  
I.K. Cohen ◽  
Alan M. Kaplan

1972 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Anne Malcolm ◽  
M. G. Shepherd

1. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase was isolated and partially purified from a thermophilic fungus, Penicillium duponti, and a mesophilic fungus, Penicillium notatum. 2. The molecular weight of the P. duponti enzyme was found to be 120000±10000 by gelfiltration and sucrose-density-gradient-centrifugation techniques. No NADP+- or glucose 6-phosphate-induced change in molecular weight could be demonstrated. 3. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from the thermophilic fungus was more heat-stable than that from the mesophile. Glucose 6-phosphate, but not NADP+, protected the enzyme from both the thermophile and the mesophile from thermal inactivation. 4. The Km values determined for glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from the thermophile P. duponti were 4.3×10−5m-NADP+ and 1.6×10−4m-glucose 6-phosphate; for the enzyme from the mesophile P. notatum the values were 6.2×10−5m-NADP+ and 2.5×10−4m-glucose 6-phosphate. 5. Inhibition by NADPH was competitive with respect to both NADP+ and glucose 6-phosphate for both the P. duponti and P. notatum enzymes. The inhibition pattern indicated a rapid-equilibrium random mechanism, which may or may not involve a dead-end enzyme–NADP+–6-phosphogluconolactone complex; however, a compulsory-order mechanism that is consistent with all the results is proposed. 6. The activation energies for the P. duponti and P. notatum glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenases were 40.2 and 41.4kJ·mol−1 (9.6 and 9.9kcal·mol−1) respectively. 7. Palmitoyl-CoA inhibited P. duponti glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and gave an inhibition constant of 5×10−6m. 8. Penicillium glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase had a high degree of substrate and coenzyme specificity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 996-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Perkins ◽  
H. E. Gilbert ◽  
M. Aslam ◽  
J. Hannan ◽  
V. M. Holers ◽  
...  

The short consensus/complement repeat (SCR) domain (also known as the complement control protein domain) is the most abundant domain type in the complement system. Crystal and NMR structures for proteins that contain single and multiple SCR domains have now been published. These contain inter-SCR linkers of between three and eight residues, and the structures show much variability in inter-SCR orientations. X-ray and neutron scattering, combined with analytical ultracentrifugation and constrained modelling based on known subunit structures will yield a medium-resolution structure for the protein of interest. The fewer parameters that are associated with the structure of interest, the more defined the structure of interest becomes. These solution studies have been applied to several SCR-containing proteins in the complement system, most notably Factor H with 20 SCR domains, a complement receptor type 2 fragment with two SCR domains, and rat complement receptor-related protein (Crry) which contains five SCR domains. The results show great conformational variability in the inter-SCR orientation, and these will be reviewed. Even though the rotational orientation cannot be modelled, it is nonetheless possible to measure the degree of extension of the multi-SCR proteins and, from this, to obtain functionally useful results.


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