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PubMed1985

Preparation of antibodies against the fourth complement component (C4) and development of a direct electroimmunoassay for quantification of C4d.

The specificity of several preparations of antihuman C4 antibodies were examined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. Two antibody preparations with anti-C4c and anti-"total" C4 reactivity respectively were prepared by immunoadsorption procedures and defined by comparison with reference antibodies of known specificity. These two antibody preparations were used in the development of a rocket immunoelectrophoresis with an intermediate gel for specific and direct quantification of C4d. This method permits the selective quantification of activation of the classical complement pathway as opposed to the alternative pathway activation.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1984

Biosynthesis and postsynthetic processing of human C3b/C4b inactivator (factor I) in three hepatoma cell lines.

Human factor I is a two-chain plasma glycoprotein composed of disulfide-linked 50,000- and 38,000-dalton subunits. Analysis of its biosynthesis and postsynthetic processing demonstrated that factor I is synthesized as a single chain precursor (pro-I) that undergoes glycosylation and limited proteolysis to generate the native protein. One of three human hepatoma cell lines, HepG2 , secreted factor I predominantly (70-90%) in a single chain pro-I form. The other cell lines secrete factor I predominantly in its two chain native form. The defect in conversion of pro-I to I in HepG2 was protein specific since other multichain proteins, derived from single chain precursors, the third, fourth, and fifth components of complement were processed normally. Further analysis of the inefficient pro-I to I conversion by HepG2 revealed that Xenopus oocytes injected with HepG2 mRNA secreted factor I in a predominantly two-chain form. In addition, the apparent sizes of native factor I, transferrin, and alpha-1-antitrypsin secreted by the three hepatoma lines differed due to differences in postsynthetic processing.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

In vivo instability of red-blood-cell-bound C3d and C4d.

Until now, there have been no measurements of the in vivo stability of red-blood-cell-bound C3d and C4d subfragments of the third and fourth components of human complement. We have recently described a radiolabeled antiantiglobulin method for measuring RBC-bound C3d and have demonstrated that small amounts of C3d are present on RBC of all normal subjects tested. In the present study, the method was applied to follow the increments above baseline of RBC-bound C3d and C4d produced by autotransfusing 3 normal volunteers with 160-200 ml of RBC strongly coated in vitro by C3d and C4d. Posttransfusion measurements were carried out over 21-34 days. Immediate and long-term in vivo survival of the transfused RBC was unimpaired by C3d and C4d coating. Of the bound C3d antigen, 85%-95% disappeared from circulating RBC in 5-8 days; the remainder disappeared more slowly, with half-times in the range of 8-29 days. C4d antigen disappeared substantially more slowly, describable by a single exponential function in 2 of the 3 subjects, with half-times in the range of 12-31 days. Recognition of the in vivo instability of RBC-bound C3d helps in interpreting steady-state and changing levels of RBC C3d coating in a variety of alloimmune and autoimmune disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Early markers of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis activation in Argentine hemorrhagic fever.

Junin virus, an arenaviridae, is the etiological agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever. In addition to thrombocytopenia, patients present several alterations in both the blood coagulation and the fibrinolytic system, but diffuse intravascular coagulation could not be demonstrated. To investigate further the activation status of the two systems, levels of thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, protein C, total and free protein S, C4bBP, antithrombin III, t-PA, PAI-1 and D-dimer were measured. Fourteen patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Argentine hemorrhagic fever were included in the study, 2 were severe, 3 moderate and 9 mild clinical cases, but hemorrhages were slight throughout. Blood samples were collected for 6 consecutive days on admission and on remission. At admission TAT and F1 + 2 levels were increased in 13/14 patients, reaching 0.33 nM (0.06-0.87) and 2.16 nM (0.96-6.5), respectively. PC was low in 4 cases, fPS in 6 and tPS in 2, whereas C4bBP and ATIII values were within normal range. t-PA and D-dimer levels were high in 11/14 patients, reaching 20 ng/ml (2.7-106) and 1660 ng/ml (877-3780) respectively, while PAI-1 was considerably increased in the 2 severe cases and normal in the remainder. These results suggest low level though persistent process of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis activation in this viral hemorrhagic disease. We believe these abnormalities may lead to the well described bleeding manifestations in these patients.

Antithrombin III↗
PubMed1997

SHBG region of the anticoagulant cofactor protein S: secondary structure prediction, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and analysis of naturally occurring mutations.

Protein S (PS) and growth arrest specific factor 6 (GAS6) are vitamin K-dependent proteins with similar structures. They are mosaic proteins possessing a carboxyl-terminal region presenting sequence similarity with plasma sex hormone binding globulin (plasma SHBG), although apparently not involved in steroid binding. The SHBG-like modules have sequence similarity with the G repeats of the chain A of laminin. Laminin G repeats have been reported to contain mainly beta-strands (about 40-50%) but no or little alpha structure by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Secondary structure predictions carried out in the present work unexpectedly showed a 20 to 27% helices content in the SHBG region of PS/GAS6 (about 100 residues), while plasma SHBG and laminin G repeats had around 10% helices. CD measurements for human PS indicated also that its SHBG region had about 100 residues in alpha-helical structure. These data suggest that the SHBG region of PS/GAS6 on the one hand, and the laminin G repeats and possibly plasma SHBG on the other hand, could present important structural differences. Previously reported polymorphisms and point mutations leading to PS deficiency and thrombophilia have been analyzed with our structural predictions. We found a good agreement between these structural predictions, CD measurements, experimental and clinical data. This information allows us to gain insights into the three-dimensional structure of PS that will be helpful for the design of new experiments and future clinical investigations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Covalent modification of fourth component of human complement with primary amines. Binding studies with metastable fragment C4b and with C4.

A C4-dependent hemolytic complement assay and competitive binding assays with [1,4(n)-3H]putrescine or [14C]methylamine were used to determine the structural preferences of C4 and of metastable C4 for covalent modification with a series of alkyl primary amines. The pKa values of individual amines did not correspond with their ability to inactivate the hemolytic function of C4. The rank order of effectiveness did correlate with the molecular weight and conformation of the organic amines tested. In contrast to results with C4, metastable C4b displays a general increased susceptibility for modification by C3 and C4 alkyl amines. However, C4b exhibits a distinct preference for diamines, putrescine and 1,3-diaminopropane, over monoamines of the same alkyl chain length, s-butylamine and n-propylamine. Taken together, these studies provide the first direct evidence for a conformational change in the thioester region of C4 upon proteolytic activation to metastable C4b. A model is proposed to explain the results of competitive binding experiments with metastable C4b in terms of two binding sites for amines on C4b, the presumptive thioester and a second site such as the free side chain carboxyl group of glutamic acid. It is suggested that all amines except methylamine bind preferentially to the latter site; once bound, only diamines would still be capable of mounting a nucleophilic attack on the thioester bond with the second amino group.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1997

Defensins purified from human granulocytes bind C1q and activate the classical complement pathway like the transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 of HIV-1.

The transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 of HIV-1 contains a C1q binding domain (HIVenv 583-610) and activates the human complement system through the classical pathway. Based on structural and functional similarities between human defensins (human neutrophil peptide, HNP 1-3) and synthetic peptides representing the env 583-610 region of HIV-1, we found it interesting to investigate the C1q binding and complement activating ability of human defensins. Human defensins were purified and characterized by size exclusion chromatography, ultrafiltration, gel electrophoresis and HPLC. The complement activating ability of the purified peptides was assessed in a solid-phase immunoassay. Defensins, fixed to an ELISA plate, were able to bind the C1q subcomponent of the first complement component (C1), triggering the classical pathway of complement activation which led to C4b binding to the plate. Reduction and subsequent alkylation of disulfide bridges of defensins greatly decreased the C1q binding ability but complement activation (C4b binding) remained high. Further acetylation of the reduced defensin peptide resulted in a molecule which bound very little or no C1q but still activated the complement cascade. These phenomena indicate that defensins interact with the complement system via C1q-dependent and C1q-independent mechanisms, and extend the number of functional similarities between defensins and gp41 of HIV-1 to include C1q binding and complement activation.

Anti-Infective Agents↗
PubMed1982

The fourth component of human complement treated with amines or chaotropes or frozen-thawed (C4b-like C4): interaction with C4 binding protein and cleavage by C3b/C4b inactivator.

We have shown previously that C4 treated with amines or chaotropes, although uncleaved, exhibits properties that are similar to C4b. Studies by other groups suggest that this C4b-like form of C4 is characterized by the lack of an internal thiolester bond that is present in native C4. We report here that C4 treated with N2H4 or KSCN or frozen-thawed, unlike native C4, forms a complex with C4-binding protein (C4-bp) and is cleaved by C3b/C4b inactivator (I). Fragmentation of C4b-like C4 by I occurs without previous cleavage to C4b and requires the presence of C4-bp. Cleavage of C4b-like C4 proceeds in two steps: a small fragment (16,000 m.w.) is released first, followed by cleavage of the remaining alpha-chain fragment (83,000 m.w.) into polypeptides of 46,000 (C4d) and 32,000 m.w. All fragments, except the 46,000 m.w. fragment, are disulfide-linked to the beta- and/or gamma-chains of C4. Cleavage of C4b-like C4 probably occurs at the same points in the alp a-chain as in C4b; however, C4b-like c4 also contains C4a. Based on the m.w. determinations, the C4a portion of the alpha-chain is present in the 83,000 m.w. fragment, and after the second cleavage, in the 32,000 m.w. fragment of C4b-like C4. These findings suggest the following alignment of alpha-chain fragments: the N-terminal C4a portion is attached to a polypeptide of about 25,000 m.w. (alpha 3), which is followed in the sequence by C4d (alpha 2) (46,000 m.w.) and a small 16,000 m.w. fragment (alpha 4) that forms the C-terminus.

Amines↗
PubMed2001

C4d and C4bp deposition along the glomerular capillary walls in a patient with preeclampsia.

Complement (C) 4d and cofactor C4b binding protein (C4bp) are detected in the glomerular capillary walls of a patient with preeclampsia. A 32-year-old nullipara had proteinuria of 1.2 g/d and edema at the 33rd week of pregnancy. Gradually the urinary protein excretion increased, reaching 5.1 g/d at the 37th week. The patient also showed hypertension at this stage. After normal mature delivery, the level of the urinary protein excretion remained at 3 to 4 g/d. Renal biopsy performed by means of light and electron microscopy, 15 days after delivery, showed almost normal glomeruli and modest subendothelial widening. Immunohistochemistry indicated that immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgG, C1q, C3c, and C4c were not deposited in the glomeruli, whereas weakly positive IgM and fibrin-related antigen (FRA) were observed. Conversely, C4d, C3d, and C4bp were strongly deposited. Protein S (PS) also was observed, with a similar distribution pattern to that of C4bp. Immunoelectron microscopy showed the deposition of C4d along the capillary walls and of C4bp in the subendothelium. These findings suggest that the C4 activation process as well as the regulation process of C system and of the inflammatory coagulation axis by C4bp and PS may play an important role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, so-called glomerular capillary endotheliosis (GCE).

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Human complement C3b inactivator: isolation, characterization, and demonstration of an absolute requirement for the serum protein beta1H for cleavage of C3b and C4b in solution.

The complement regulatory enzyme, C3b inactivator (C3bINA), has been purified from human serum by affinity chromatography on an anti-C3bINA Sepharose column. Subsequent chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and removal of IgG with anti-IgG Sepharose resulted in a product which was found to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.9 and by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecule is composed of two disulfide bonded polypeptide chains with mol wt of 50,000 and 38,000 daltons. Human CobINA was found to be a glycoprotein containing at least 10.7% carbohydrate and to have a normal serum concentration of 34 +/- 7 mug/ml (mean +/- 1 SD). Highly purified C3bINA cleaved neither free C3b nor free C4b if trace amounts of contaminating beta1H were removed from these proteins with anti-beta1H Sepharose. However, in the presence of highly purified beta1H and C3bINA, both C3bIna, both C3b and C4b were cleaved. Incubation of native C3 or C4 with C3bINA and beta1H had no effect on their cleaved. Incubation of native C3 or C4 with C3bINA and beta1H had no effect on their structure. The action of C3bINA and beta1H on C3b produced two fragments of the alpha1-chain which did not dissociate without reduction of the molecule. These fragments have mol wt of 67,000 and 40,000 daltons. The action of C3bINA and beta1H on C4b resulted in cleavage of the alpha'-chain giving rise to the 150,000-dalton C4c and the 49,000-dalton C4d fragments which dissociated without reduction. To produce from C3b the immunochemically defined C3c and C3d, fragments, the action of an additional serum enzyme appears to be required, the effect of which can be mimicked by trypsin.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

Influence of host genotype on progression to AIDS among HIV-infected men.

To evaluate whether host genotype influences disease progression among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), molecular techniques were used to determine genotypes at immune response loci for 114 HIV-1-infected homosexual/bisexual white men in the San Francisco Men's Health Study. Candidate genes evaluated were HLA-DQA1 and -DRB1, complement C4A and C4B, alpha- and beta-interferons, and the heavy chain of immunoglobulin gamma 1. Of the 114 men, 29 were asymptomatic, 21 were symptomatic men and AIDS patients (p = 0.02). Specifically, the HLA haplotype DRB1*0702-DQA1*0201 was associated with absence of symptoms (p = 0.003). Conversely, the frequency of the complement C4B-L allele was higher among patients with symptoms or with AIDS than among asymptomatic subjects (p = 0.02). These results suggest that genes in or near the major histocompatibility complex may influence the rate of disease progression among HIV-1-infected men.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1994

Biochemical analysis of the membrane and soluble forms of the complement regulatory protein of Trypanosoma cruzi.

A developmentally regulated, 160-kDa trypomastigote surface glycoprotein was previously shown to bind the third component of complement and to inhibit activation of the alternative complement pathway, thus providing the parasites a means of avoiding the lytic effects of complement. We now show that this complement regulatory protein (CRP) binds human C4b, a component of the classical pathway C3 convertase, and may therefore also act to restrict classical complement activation. Characterization of the extent of carbohydrate modification of the protein revealed extensive N-linked glycosylation and no apparent O-linked sugars. The CRP purified from parasites treated with an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation exhibited a decreased binding affinity for C3b compared with that of the fully glycosylated protein. We have previously shown that the protein was anchored to the membrane via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol linkage and was spontaneously shed from the parasite surface. The spontaneous release of CRP from the parasite surface may augment the protection of the parasites from complement-mediated lysis by the removal of complement-CRP complexes. The majority of the shed CRP had an apparent molecular mass of 160 kDa and lacked the glycolipid anchor, whereas the membrane form was recovered with the glycolipid anchor attached and had an apparent molecular mass of 185 kDa. Both the membrane form (185 kDa) and the soluble form (160 kDa) retained binding affinity for C3b. Evidence is presented to indicate that the conversion of the 185-kDa membrane form to the 160-kDa form is the result of cleavage by an endogenous phospholipase C.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Rare variant of complement C4 is seen in high frequency in patients with primary glomerulonephritis.

59 unselected patients with primary glomerulonephritis were phenotyped for alleles of the MHC-linked complement genes, C4A, C4B, and BF. A rare variant of the C4B locus, C4B*2.9, was found in 25% of these patients compared with only 2% of the normal population--a relative risk of 22.1 for glomerulonephritis in individuals with this variant. Subdivision of patients by histological classification of glomerulonephritis revealed a significant association of C4B*2.9 with the membranoproliferative form. There were no significant associations between primary glomerulonephritis or its subtypes and the other HLA markers tested.

Alleles↗
PubMed1991

Protein S and C4b-binding protein: components involved in the regulation of the protein C anticoagulant system.

The protein C anticoagulant system provides important control of the blood coagulation cascade. The key protein is protein C, a vitamin K-dependent zymogen which is activated to a serine protease by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex on endothelial cells. Activated protein C functions by degrading the phospholipid-bound coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. Protein S is a cofactor in these reactions. It is a vitamin K-dependent protein with multiple domains. From the N-terminal it contains a vitamin K-dependent domain, a thrombin-sensitive region, four EGF) epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains and a C-terminal region homologous to the androgen binding proteins. Three different types of post-translationally modified amino acid residues are found in protein S, 11 gamma-carboxy glutamic acid residues in the vitamin K-dependent domain, a beta-hydroxylated aspartic acid in the first EGF-like domain and a beta-hydroxylated asparagine in each of the other three EGF-like domains. The EGF-like domains contain very high affinity calcium binding sites, and calcium plays a structural and stabilising role. The importance of the anticoagulant properties of protein S is illustrated by the high incidence of thrombo-embolic events in individuals with heterozygous deficiency. Anticoagulation may not be the sole function of protein S, since both in vivo and in vitro, it forms a high affinity non-covalent complex with one of the regulatory proteins in the complement system, the C4b-binding protein (C4BP). The complexed form of protein S has no APC cofactor function. C4BP is a high molecular weight multimeric protein with a unique octopus-like structure. It is composed of seven identical alpha-chains and one beta-chain. The alpha- and beta-chains are linked by disulphide bridges. The cDNA cloning of the beta-chain showed the alpha- and beta-chains to be homologous and of common evolutionary origin. Both subunits are composed of multiple 60 amino acid long repeats (short complement or consensus repeats, SCR) and their genes are located in close proximity on chromosome 1, band 1q32. Available experimental data suggest the beta-chain to contain the single protein S binding site on C4BP, whereas each of the alpha-chains contains a binding site for the complement protein, C4b. As C4BP lacking the beta-chain is unable to bind protein S, the beta-chain is required for protein S binding, but not for the assembly of the alpha-chains during biosynthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

High affinity interaction between C4b-binding protein and vitamin K-dependent protein S in the presence of calcium. Suggestion of a third component in blood regulating the interaction.

The anticoagulant vitamin K-dependent protein S interacts with the complement regulatory protein C4b-binding protein (C4BP), both in purified systems and in plasma. The concentrations of these proteins in plasma are approximately equimolar (0.3 microM) and 30-40% of protein S in plasma is found in the noncomplexed state. Only the uncomplexed form of protein S displays anticoagulant activity and studies have shown that patients with a selective deficiency of free protein S have a high incidence of thrombosis. In this study, we report that the protein S-C4BP interaction is at least 100-fold tighter in the presence of Ca2+ than in EDTA. The KD in the presence of Ca2+ was estimated with a gel filtration technique to be less than 5 x 10(-10) M, whereas in the presence of EDTA, it was approximately 100-fold higher. Ca2+ titration experiments suggested that the Ca2+ sites which function in the protein S-C4BP interaction are of high affinity which, in turn, suggests that they may be independent of the gamma-carboxyglutamic acid region and may be present in the epidermal growth factor-like domains of protein S. The high affinity of the protein S-C4BP interaction in the presence of Ca2+ suggested that virtually all of the protein S in whole blood should be complexed with C4BP. However, even though the protein S-C4BP interaction in Ca2(+)-containing serum was shown to have the same high affinity as in purified systems, approximately 30-40% of the protein S in serum was free. These results appear best explained by the presence of a third component in whole blood which regulates the protein S-C4BP interaction, keeping approximately 30-40% of circulating protein S in its free, functionally anticoagulant form. It is speculated that persons with little free protein S may be deficient in this hypothetical third component.

Calcium↗