An acute phase protein has been defined as a protein whose plasma concentration increases (positive acute phase protein) or decreases (negative acute phase protein) by at least 25 percent during an inflammatory condition (Gabay & Kushner, 1999). The complement system is a biochemical cascade and major effecter mechanism of humoral or innate immunity. However, the complement system also has the ...

UNLABELLED Natural killer (NK) cells and the complement system play critical roles in the first line of defense against pathogens. The synthesis of complement components C4 and C3 is transcriptionally downregulated by hepatitis C virus (HCV) core and NS5A proteins, and this negative regulation is apparent in chronically HCV-infected patients. In this study, we have examined the potential contri...

The complement is a part of the immune system that plays several roles in removing pathogens. Despite the importance of the complement system, the exact role of each component has been overlooked because the complement system was thought to be a nonspecific humoral immune mechanism that worked against pathogens. Decay-accelerating factor (DAF or CD55) is a known inhibitor of the complement syst...

patients with organic acidemia are prone to different infections, which lead to acidosis episodes. some studies have evaluated the status of immune system in acidotic phase in these patients, but to the best of our knowledge no study has evaluated the immune system in non-acidotic phase of the disease. in this study, thirty-one patients with organic acidemia were enrolled. for evaluation of hum...

Regulation of complement activation by pathogens and the host are critical for survival. Using two highly related orthopoxvirus proteins, the vaccinia and variola (smallpox) virus complement control proteins, which differ by only 11 aa, but differ 1000-fold in their ability to regulate complement activation, we investigated the role of electrostatic potential in predicting functional activity. ...

We report the effect of chemical modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on their activation of the human serum complement system, as well as the adsorption of human plasma proteins on MWNTs. Four different types of chemically-modified MWNTs were tested for complement activation via the classical and alternative pathways using haemolytic assays. Human plasma protein binding was al...

Congenital and acquired deficiencies of complement regulatory proteins are associated with pathologic complement activation in several renal diseases. To elucidate the mechanisms by which renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) control the complement system, we examined the expression of complement regulatory proteins by the cells. We found that Crry is the only membrane-bound complement regulato...

IW The complement system is a part of the innate immune system that is necessary for fighting infections and aberrant immunologic stimuli. Complement has 2 main functions. One function is opsonization: coating pathogens—such as bacteria, viruses, and dead cells— with C3b for macrophage clearance. The other function is cell lysis; that is, punching a hole in the membrane of a cell or pathogen. P...

A variety of complement-activating substances, including inulin, immunoglobulin aggregates, bacterial endotoxins, and staphylococcal protein A, were found to initiate blood coagulation through a complement-mediated pathway. These substances markedly accelerated blood coagulation in normal rabbit blood. That this clot-promoting activity requires an intact complement system was demonstrated by an...

PURPOSE The complement system is part of the innate defense system of the body, and it contributes to inflammatory conditions. The current study examined tears for the presence of complement components, the activity of the components, and the presence of regulatory components. METHODS The significance of a functional complement system in tears was examined in four ways. First, the presence an...