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The binding of native DNA to the collagen-like segment of Clq.

Our study was undertaken to determine if native DNA (dsDNA), which is known to bind to collagen, also binds to the collagen-like segment of Clq (CLS). Three methods were employed to demonstrate the binding of dsDNA to CLS: (1) Six human sera and a mouse monoclonal antibody to dsDNA were employed in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to detect CLS bound dsDNA. When applied to CLS bound dsDNA, sera with antibodies to dsDNA and monoclonal antibody to DNA yielded mean OD values of greater than or equal to 0.6, significantly higher than those values obtained from control experiments (mean OD less than or equal to 0.2, p less than or equal to 0.003). (2) In a solid phase immunoassay radiolabelled DNA (3H DNA) was exposed to increasing amounts of solid phase adherent CLS. The binding of 3H DNA to the solid phase was substantially greater (more than a 30-fold increase) when the solid phase had been precoated with CLS. (3) dsDNA binding to CLS was demonstrated further by incubating electrophoretically resolved CLS with dsDNA and localizing the bound dsDNA by ethidium bromide staining. Our results indicate the dsDNA binds to CLS. Since CLS is the binding site for Clr and then Clr2Cls2, molecules which bind to CLS, such as dsDNA, could be important factors affecting Cl activation.

Collagen

Inhibition of alternative pathway factor D by factor B-related synthetic hexapeptides.

Hexapeptides mimicking the partial amino acid sequence of factor B surrounding the bond that is cleaved by factor D have been synthesized. These peptides have been assessed for their ability to inhibit factor D enzymatic activity and for their susceptibility to serine proteases. The synthetic peptides were cleaved by bovine trypsin and C1s but not by alpha-thrombin and factor D. The peptides inhibited factor B cleavage and fluid-phase or cell-bound alternative pathway C3 convertase activation by factor D. Altogether, these results suggest that peptides analogous to factor B specifically inhibit factor D enzymatic activity. Thus, they constitute an interesting tool for study of alternative pathway activation and can be of use when attempting to manipulate this pathway, since factor D is an essential component for alternative pathway initiation and amplification.

Animals

Possible involvement of terminal complement complex in active Heymann nephritis.

We investigated whether the appearance of various complement components in renal deposits of immune complexes correlated with the development of proteinuria in rats with active Heymann nephritis. Sequential kidney biopsy specimens and serum samples were obtained from Lewis rats immunized with Fx1A in complete Freund's adjuvant. Circulating antibodies against purified auto-antigen renal tubular epithelial glycoprotein, as measured by ELISA, were found in the circulation together with a diffuse granular deposition of IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b in the glomeruli within 2 weeks after immunization. Biopsy specimens taken 4 weeks after immunization showed diffuse deposition of C4 and C3, which indicated that activation of complement by the classical pathway had occurred. The detection of the C5b-9 complex of complement in glomerular deposits coincided with the development of abnormal proteinuria indicating that the glomerular damage in this autoimmune disease may be caused by complement-mediated lesions in the glomerular capillary walls.

Animals

Complement mediated inhibition of immune precipitation in rheumatoid arthritis: studies on interaction of heat aggregated IgG with IgM rheumatoid factor.

Serum samples from patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis contain an inhibitor of complement mediated inhibition of immune precipitation (CMIP). This inhibitory effect can be produced by the addition of either purified monoclonal or polyclonal IgM rheumatoid factor (RF) to human serum. The specificity of the rheumatoid factor influences the degree of inhibition, and when precipitation occurs the rheumatoid factor coprecipitates with the antigen-antibody complex. In rheumatoid sera there was a significant positive correlation between IgM RF concentration and inhibitory activity, though the range of inhibitory activity seen for the same concentration of rheumatoid factor was considerable. Small quantities of heat aggregated IgG (HAGG) had a much greater effect on the measurement in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of IgM RF than they did on the inhibitory activity of IgM RF in the CMIP assay. Larger quantities of HAGG initiated complement activation and increased the precipitation of immune complexes. IgM RF reduced the complement activating properties of HAGG by reducing the amount of Clq which bound to the aggregate. The mechanisms by which IgM RF overcomes CMIP in rheumatoid sera may involve its inhibitory effects on the binding of Cl to the antigen-antibody complex.

Antigen-Antibody Complex

The functional inhibition of activated C1 inhibitor in normal human serum causes spontaneous consumption of the complement components C2, C3, C4, and factor B.

The human complement components C1r, C1s, C4, C3, factor B, and/or activated C1INH were functionally blocked in normal human serum (NHS) and EGTA- or EDTA-treated NHS by polyclonal monospecific Fab'-fragments to the individual components. The results of inhibition experiments are compatible with the formation of a classical pathway fluid-phase C3 convertase (C4b2a) spontaneously generated by the inhibition of activated C1INH. This process in both NHS and EGTA-NHS was accompanied by the consumption of C2, C4, C3, and factor B but only by poor enhancement of C5 conversion. Blocking subcomponent C1r, completely inhibited spontaneous activation of the complement components, indicating that the control of C1r hydrolysis is the essential role of activated C1INH as a regulator of C1 activation in NHS. Non-complement serum proteases were inactive during the initiation of the activation process. The presence of blood cells during functional inhibition of activated C1INH in NHS slightly decreased the consumption of C3 but not of C2 and C4.

Angioedema

The alternative pathway C3/C5 convertase: chemical basis of factor B activation.

The structural basis of activation of the alternative pathway C3 convertase was explored. For this purpose a modified isolation procedure of the activating enzyme, Factor D, was elaborated. The procedure affords a 70,000-fold purification of the enzyme with a 20% yield. A simple assay was designed for the quantitation of both Factor D and Factor B activity. On the basis of activity measurements and amino acid analysis, Factor D concentration in plasma was estimated to be 1 microgram/ml. Highly purified Factor D was used to activate Factor B in the presence of C3b and Mg++. The resulting fragments, Ba and Bb, were characterized with respect to their circular dichroism spectra, amino acid compositions, reactive sulfhydryl groups, and partial amino- and carboxy-terminal sequences. The results indicate that the Ba fragment constitutes the amino-terminal region and the Bb fragment the carboxy-terminal region of Factor B. The bond in Factor B that is cleaved by Factor D is proposed to be an arginyl-lysine bond.

Chemotaxis, Leukocyte

The molecular genetics of components of complement.

Rapid progress has been made in establishing linkages and in chromosome allocation of the genes of some 9 complement components. In the MHC, C2, Factor B, and two C4 or C4 related genes have been placed in some detail in both man and mouse. The gene coding for the cytochrome P-450 21-hydroxylase has been shown to be duplicated and immediately 3' to the two C4 genes, though it appears to be functionally and structurally unrelated to the complement components. Thus six genes have been mapped to this region where particular haplotypes are associated with increased susceptibility to a number of diseases, some of which are autoimmune in character. The complete gene structure of Factor B has been solved in man and rapid progress is being made with the C2 and C4 genes. The structural basis of the polymorphisms of these genes is being established. In C4, the polymorphism is exceptionally complex with varying numbers of loci and probably more than 50 allotypes occurring in man. A structural basis has also been found for the big differences in the biological activity of some of the C4 allotypes in man. Apart from the genes in the MHC, linkage has been found between the genes coding for C4bp, CR1, and Factor H. Remarkably there are sequence homologies between these proteins and C2 and Factor B, probably related to the ability to bind to one or other of the structurally similar proteins C3b and C4b. The complete cDNA sequences of C3 and C4 in mouse and man have given much information on the many posttranslational modifications of these proteins. A partial structure has been obtained for the C3 gene and the homology shown between C3, C4, C5, alpha 2-macroglobulin, and pregnancy zone protein. Although the amount of detailed information in the molecular genetics of complement components is accumulating rapidly, there appears to be a reasonable prospect that linkages and homologies will classify the data into a comprehensible form.

Alleles

Monoclonal anti-human C3d antibodies: stabilization of the alternative pathway C3 convertase.

IgG mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) was prepared by fusion of spleen cells from mice immunized with human C3d (mAb:C3d) using syngeneic thymocytes as feeder cells. mAb:C3d was assessed for its effect on the stabilization of the cell-bound alternative pathway C3 convertase EAC3bBb. It bound to cell-bound C3b and stabilized C3bBb at 30 degrees in the presence of EDTA-GVB. The plasma protein H reduced the stabilization effect of the stabilized C3 convertase. These results suggest that binding of antibody to C3d may stabilize C3bBb. It seems likely that such antibody induces in C3b conformational change, which increases the C3bBb complex stability.

Antibodies, Monoclonal

Biosynthesis of the complement components and the regulatory proteins of the alternative complement pathway by human peripheral blood monocytes.

Short-term cultures of human peripheral blood monocytes were shown to synthesize the alternative pathway complement components C3, factors B (B) and D (D), and properdin, the regulatory proteins C3b inactivator (C3bINA) and beta 1H, in addition to C2, C4, and C5. B, D, properdin, C3bINA, and C2 were detected by functional assays, whereas beta 1H, C4, C3, and C5 could only be detected using immunochemical procedures. Immunoperoxidase localization studies showed that all the cells in each culture contained each component, so it is possible that all monocytes synthesize each component. It is concluded that cells of the monocyte-macrophage series form a mobile source of complement components and regulatory proteins which can be concentrated at sites of inflammation.

Cells, Cultured

Stabilization of the amplification convertase of complement by monoclonal antibodies directed against human factor B.

Three IgM mouse monoclonal antibodies (MoAb), 5B5-A, 2D2-B, and 5B12-A, were prepared by fusion of spleen cells from mice immunized with human B with the SP 2/0 myeloma cell line. They were assessed for their effect on cell-bound and fluid-phase amplification convertases of complement (C) with purified proteins in vitro. 5B5-A and 2D2-B were similar in their effects on cell-bound preformed C3bBb in that they bound to cell-bound C3bBb, stabilized the C3bBb convertase, and rendered the C3bBb convertase relatively resistant to the plasma protein H. These two MoAb were also able to enhance C3 consumption in vitro in reaction mixtures containing C3b, C3, B, and D. At the same time, they presumably stabilized the C3 convertase and caused relative sparing of B hemolytic activity in the reaction mixtures. In contrast, 5B12-A, which also bound to Bb and C3bBb, did not induce any stabilization, but rather caused accelerated decay of cell-bound C3bBb. These results indicate that MoAb against B can have C3NeF-like activity. On the other hand, not all MoAb against B have stabilizing activity on the C3bBb convertase.

Animals

Antibody-independent activation of the complement system by mitochondria is mediated by cardiolipin.

Non-immune activation of the first component of complement (C1) by the heart mitochondrial inner membrane has been investigated. Cardiolipin, the only strong activator of C1 among phospholipids, is present in large amounts in the heart mitochondrial inner membrane. We therefore studied its contribution to C1 activation by mitochondria. The proteins of the mitochondrial inner membrane were found to activate C1 only weakly, in contrast with the phospholipid fraction which induces strong C1 activation. Furthermore, the digestion of mitochondrial inner membranes with proteolytic enzymes did not affect C1 activation. Additional support in favour of cardiolipin being the responsible activator came from competition experiments with mitochondrial creatine kinase (mt-CPK) and adriamycin, known to bind to cardiolipin. Both mt-CPK and adriamycin displaced C1q from the mitochondrial inner membrane. In addition, C1q displaced mt-CPK bound to mitoplasts.

Animals

Simultaneous turnover of normal and dysfunctional C1 inhibitor as a probe of in vivo activation of C1 and contact activatable proteases.

Simultaneous turnover of normal and dysfunctional C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) was carried out in 10 normal subjects and 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis as a measure of the in vivo activation of C1 and the contact activatable enzymes. In the first series of experiments, dysfunctional protein We was used in simultaneous turnover studies in five normal subjects and nine patients. The fractional catabolic rate of the dysfunctional C1-INH, We, (FCR(d)) was unchanged in both groups but the fractional catabolic rate of the normal C1-INH (FCR(n)) was faster in the patients compared to the controls, in particular patients with vasculitis. The enzyme-dependent catabolism defined as FCR(n-d) X concentration of C1-INH X plasma volume, was raised in the patient group, and correlated with disease activity score (r = 0.83, P less than 0.05). Neither FCR(n) nor FCR(d) was dependent on C1-INH concentration. The latter was higher in the patients (206 mg/l compared with 155 mg/l) indicating a very high synthetic rate in the patients (280.81 micrograms/kg/h compared with 179.77 micrograms/kg). In the second series of turnovers in six patients and five normal subjects, another dysfunctional C1-INH, at, was used. The FCR of C1-INH was slower than C1-INH (We) (1.88%/h compared with 2.7%/h). Enzyme-dependent catabolism of C1-INH in these patients were raised and also correlated with disease activity score (r = 0.82, P less than 0.05).

Adult

Characterization of the activation of the human C1r complement molecule.

The proenzyme form of C1r was isolated by sequential chromatography from the euglobulin fraction of human serum on DEAE-Sepharose 6B-CL, CM-Sepharose 6B-CL and Sepharose S-300-CL. This C1r had the tendency to spontaneously activate within 60-90 min of incubation at 37 degrees C in presence of EDTA and more slowly in the presence of Ca2+. The spontaneous activation of C1r was found to be a bimolecular process and could be completely inhibited by DFP in the pH range 6-9 and in the presence of Ca2+ without affecting the hemolytic C1r activity. [14C]DFP bound to trace proteins in the 60-90 kD range, but not to C1r proenzyme. The spontaneous activation of C1r was diminished in the presence of EDTA by DFP, but could not be completely suppressed. EDTA acts by removing Ca2+ from C1r, thereby changing the conformation of the protein and causing an increased digestibility of the C1r H-chain. At temperatures above 0-4 degrees C this influence destroyed the ability of C1r proenzyme and enzyme to form macromolecular C1 and thereby abolished its hemolytic activity. We conclude from these results that the spontaneous C1r activation in the pH range 6-9 and in the presence of Ca2+ is due to contaminant proteases. C1r activated also spontaneously at higher pH values between pH 9 and 13.2, but the spontaneous activation ceased abruptly at pH 13.4. An intramolecular process of activation cannot be excluded at these high pH values. It is, however, not clear, whether this activation is a suitable model for the C1r activation in the C1 molecule, because the hemolytic activity of C1r was substantially diminished under the high pH conditions.

Complement Activating Enzymes