Complement System Flashcards
what is the complement system?
a system comprising of many circulating and membrane-fixed proteins
what is the function of the complement system?
- kill microorganisms directly
- induce inflammation
- increase phagocytosis by opsonization
- clear insoluble immune complexes
what are the three steps of activation for the complement system?
- recognition
- enzyme activation
- expression of biological activity
what are the three activation pathways?
- classical pathway
- alternate pathway
- lectin pathway
what is the similarity between all three activation pathways?
they all result in the same complement activation
what is the classical pathway initiated by?
antigen-antibody complex
what is the alternate pathway initiated by?
cell wall of bacteria and yeasts
what is the lectin pathway initiated by?
lectins that bind mannose (MBL)
what are the similarities of the classical and lectin pathways?
- formation of C3 convertase
- covalent binding of C3b to microbial surface
what are the similarities of the alternative, classical and lectin pathways?
- all three perform cleavage of C3
what is the first step of the classical pathway?
- C1 complex binds to antibody-antigen complex initiating the pathway
what is the C1 complex composed of?
C1q
C1r
C1s
what does the C1q portion of the C1 complex need for binding?
two molecules of IgG or one molecule of IgM in order to bind to Fc regions and cause a conformational change
what happens once the binding of the C1 complex and antigen-antibody complex causes a conformational change?
the activated C1s (C1 esterase) begins enzymatic activity to cleave downstream complement components
what does C1 esterase cleave?
cleaves C4 into C4a and C4b first,
then cleaves C2 into C2a and C2b
what is C3 convertase?
the bound fragments C4b and C2a combined on the membrane to form a complex
what does the C3 convertase cleave?
cleaves C3 into C3a and C3b where c#b is the key molecule