The filtered complement hypothesis.
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BACKGROUND: The process of separating whole blood into components and the storage of blood components may cause the release of toxic metabolites from the complement cascade. The aim of this study was to determine whether the storage of blood components leads to the activation of the complement cascade and the release of anaphylatoxins. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood from 12 healthy volunteers was collected and stored either as whole blood or as components: red cells in saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol solution, plasma, and buffy coat. The concentrations of anaphylatoxins and other complement proteins in the various blood components were intermittently analyzed during a 5-week storage period. RESULTS: Increasing levels of anaphylatoxins were demonstrated during the storage of whole blood and plasma. Elevated concentrations of the anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a were observed during the storage of whole blood. Increased C5a levels were observed after 7 days of storage. High concentrations of C3a were found in plasma after 14 days of storage. Low or non-detectable levels of C3a; C5a, and other complement components were found in red cells stores in saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol solution. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated activation of complement during the storage of whole blood and plasma but not in red cells in storage solution. The transfusion of larger volumes of stored whole blood or plasma may contribute to the risk of development of organ dysfunction. Therefore, it is advisable to use red cells in storage solution.
BACKGROUND: Virus inactivation of plasma can be achieved by photodynamic methods in the presence of phenothiazine dyes such as methylene blue (MB). Subsequent filtration may increase the efficacy of virus inactivation and reduce adverse effects of WBC contamination and MB. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This study examined the effect of filtration with three different filters (MBF1, MBF2, and MBF3) on MB concentration, residual cells, coagulation factors, and activation measures of coagulation, fibrinolysis, and complement in MB-treated (1 microM/L) plasma units. RESULTS: Filtration reduced the concentration of MB by > or = 89 percent. WBCs were depleted by 92 percent (MBF1) and >99.9 percent (MBF2 and MBF3). Treatment with MB significantly decreased the coagulation potency from levels in untreated plasma, as measured by thromboplastin time ratio (112 +/- 18% vs. 95 +/- 11%), activated partial thromboplastin time (40 +/- 3 sec vs. 44 +/- 3 sec), thrombin time (16.9 +/- 1.1 sec vs. 18.6 +/- 1.5 sec), factor VIII (1.09 +/- 0.21 U/mL vs. 0.85 +/- 0.13 U/mL), and vWF (0.94 +/- 0.65 U/mL vs. 0.65 +/- 0.24 U/mL). Filtration did not further decrease these values, while factor XI (0.75 +/- 0.22 U/mL vs. 0.37 +/- 0.20 U/mL) and prekallikrein values decreased in MB plasma units filtered with the MBF3. In addition, activated factor XII (0.7 +/- 0.5 microg/L vs. 4.5 +/- 1.0 microg/L) increased. CONCLUSION: WBCs and MB can be eliminated from MB-treated plasma units by filtration. Differences in biocompatibility of the different filters, especially the influence on the contact phase of coagulation, must be taken into consideration.
BACKGROUND: The aim of the present investigation was to study whether autologous transfusion devices activate the complement system and whether complement-activated blood is more vulnerable to further activation during processing. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Forty-eight blood units were randomized to be processed by one of three different salvage systems: Group 1 underwent whole blood filtration (hemofiltration) (n=16); Group 2 underwent continuous processing, saline washing, and centrifugation (CATS, Fresenius AG ) (n=16); and Group 3 underwent saline washing and centrifugation (Cell-Saver, Haemonetics Corp.) (n=16). Eight blood units for each system were activated with cobra venom factor (CVF) at a concentration of 0.2 U per mL whole blood before processing. C activation was studied by determinations of C4d, Bb, C3a, and SC5b-9. Samples were drawn from whole blood, processed blood, and the waste bags. RESULTS: The concentrations of Bb, C3a, and SC5b-9 in whole blood after activation with CVF were significantly elevated compared to blood that was not activated (p < 0.01). Processed blood from hemofiltration contained significantly higher levels of complement-split products than techniques that use washing and centrifugation. The concentrations of SC5b-9 in blood processed by hemofiltration were higher in the experiments with CVF activation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The tested autologous transfusion systems did not themselves activate the complement system, and complement-activated blood was not more vulnerable to further activation during processing. A blood-salvaging technique that used washing and centrifugation reduced elevated concentrations of complement-split products, whereas hemofiltration did not.
Factor H-related protein-5 (FHR-5) is a newly described human plasma protein with structural similarities to human factor H and the four other recently described factor H-related proteins. Unlike the other factor H-related proteins, FHR-5 was initially identified at the protein, rather than complementary DNA, level in studies of glomerular immune deposit composition. To determine the incidence and pattern of detection of FHR-5 in human renal biopsy specimens, a prospective study of 100 consecutive biopsies was performed using anti-FHR-5 monoclonal antibody and indirect immunofluorescence. The pattern of FHR-5 deposition is very similar to that of other complement components, C3 and SC5b-9. It is detected in all complement-containing glomerular immune deposits and has a pattern of extraglomerular deposition similar to that of other complement components. This study shows FHR-5 to be strongly associated with glomerular complement deposition and suggests a role in complement activation or regulation. It may be an important mediator of glomerular disease.
The pathophysiological state of rejection in liver xenotransplantation is poorly understood. Data from clinical pig liver perfusion suggest that pig livers might be rejected less vigorously than pig hearts or kidneys. Pig livers used in clinical xenoperfusions were exposed to blood from patients with liver failure. We have shown in an animal model that transplant recipients with liver failure are less capable of initiating hyperacute rejection of a xenografted liver than a healthy transplant recipient. The goal of this report is to examine the pathological characteristics of pig livers used in 2 clinical pig liver perfusions and combine this information with in vitro studies of pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation to determine whether the findings in the perfused pig livers could be explained in part by the diminished capacity of the patient with liver failure to respond to xenogeneic tissue. Pathological analysis of the perfused pig livers showed immunoglobulin M deposition in the sinusoids with little evidence of complement activation. Our in vitro studies showed that serum from patients with liver failure caused less injury to pig liver endothelium than serum from healthy subjects. Serum from patients with liver failure had similar levels of xenoreactive antibodies as serum from healthy humans. Incubation of serum from patients with liver failure with pig hepatic endothelial cells generated less iC3b, Bb fragment, and C5b-9 than serum from healthy subjects. We conclude that the altered injury in the perfused pig livers can be attributed to the relative complement deficiency that accompanies liver failure.
Inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs) physically interact with a variety of pro-apoptotic proteins and inhibit apoptosis induced by diverse stimuli. X-linked IAP (X-IAP) is a prototype IAP family member that inhibits several caspases, the effector proteases of apoptosis. The inhibitory activity of X-IAP is regulated by SMAC, a protein that is processed to its active form upon receipt of a death stimulus. Cleaved SMAC binds X-IAP and antagonizes its anti-apoptotic activity. Here we show that melanoma IAP (ML-IAP), a potent anti-cell death protein and caspase inhibitor, physically interacts with SMAC through its BIR (baculovirus IAP repeat) domain. In addition to binding full-length SMAC, ML-IAP BIR associates with SMAC peptides that are derived from the amino terminus of active, processed SMAC. This high affinity interaction is very specific and can be completely abolished by single amino acid mutations either in the amino terminus of active SMAC or in the BIR domain of ML-IAP. In cells expressing ML-IAP and X-IAP, SMAC coexpression or addition of SMAC peptides abrogates the ability of the IAPs to inhibit cell death. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using SMAC peptides as a way to sensitize IAP-expressing cells to pro-apoptotic stimuli such as chemotherapeutic agents.
The 65 kD homologous restriction factor (HRF) was isolated from normal human erythrocytes (E) by immunoadsorption using rabbit anti-human HRF. The protein was radiolabeled and incorporated into the membrane of sheep erythrocytes (Es). Es bearing HRF exhibited a markedly reduced susceptibility to reactive lysis by C5b-9. Es-HRF with 1,000-3,000 HRF molecules per cell and sensitized with rabbit IgG anti-Es also were less susceptible to lysis by human large granular lymphocytes (LGL) than untreated Es sensitized with IgG antibody. Similarly, human E of a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), lacking HRF and sensitized with IgG antibody underwent lysis by human LGL. Lysis was abrogated by incorporation of isolated human HRF. Incorporation of human decay-accelerating factor (DAF) into sensitized Es had no effect on antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Furthermore, lysis of Es by the isolated cytolytic C9-related protein (C9RP) of human cytotoxic lymphocytes could be inhibited by cell bound human HRF. These results suggest that HRF inhibits channel formation not only by C5b-9, but also by cytotoxic lymphocytes.
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a serum protein that is massively induced as part of the innate immune response to infection and tissue injury. As CRP has been detected in damaged tissues and is known to activate complement, we assessed whether apoptotic lymphocytes bound CRP and determined the effect of binding on innate immunity. CRP bound to apoptotic cells in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner and augmented the classical pathway of complement activation but protected the cells from assembly of the terminal complement components. Furthermore, CRP enhanced opsonization and phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophages associated with the expression of the antiinflammatory cytokine transforming growth factor beta. The antiinflammatory effects of CRP required C1q and factor H and were not effective once cells had become necrotic. These observations demonstrate that CRP and the classical complement components act in concert to promote noninflammatory clearance of apoptotic cells and may help to explain how deficiencies of the classical pathway and certain pentraxins lead to impaired handling of apoptotic cells and increased necrosis with the likelihood of immune response to self.
T cell-APC conjugation as mediated by leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1)-intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 binding is followed by formation of the supramolecular activation cluster (SMAC) at the immunological synapse. The intracellular processes that regulate SMAC formation and its influence on T cell function are important questions to be addressed. Here, using a mutational approach, we demonstrate that binding of adaptor adhesion and degranulation promoting adaptor protein (ADAP) to SLP-76 differentially regulates peripheral SMAC (pSMAC) formation relative to conjugation. Although mutation of the YDDV sites (termed M12) disrupted SLP-76 SH2 domain binding and prevented the ability of ADAP to increase conjugation and LFA-1 clustering, M12 acted selectively as a dominant negative (DN) inhibitor of pSMAC formation, an effect that was paralleled by a DN effect on interleukin-2 production. ADAP also colocalized with LFA-1 at the immunological synapse. Our findings identify ADAP-SLP-76 binding as a signaling event that differentially regulates SMAC formation, and support a role for SMAC formation in T cell cytokine production.
BACKGROUND: Neurological injury after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) continues to be a major problem after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and SC5b-9 as biochemical markers of neurocognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery. METHODS: A total of 30 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery using CPB were recruited. Blood samples were obtained for IL-18 and SC5b-9 concentrations before induction, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h post-CPB and 6 weeks after operation. In addition, patients underwent a standard battery of neuropsychometric tests before operation and at day 5 and 6 weeks after operation. RESULTS: Serum concentration of IL-18, but not SC5b-9, was significantly different between patients with and without neurocognitive dysfunction; serum IL-18 concentration significantly increased in patients with neurocognitive dysfunction (P = 0.018). Neurological outcome was significantly dependent on peak difference in IL-18 concentration at day 5 (P = 0.033), but not on peak difference in SC5b-9 concentration (P = 0.16). Eight patients had neurocognitive dysfunction at day 5 and three had neurocognitive dysfunction at 6 weeks. In a very small number of patients, no significant association was demonstrated between IL-18 or SC5b-9 concentrations and neurocognitive dysfunction at 6 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: IL-18 has the potential as a useful marker of neurological dysfunction, requiring further investigation.
Although glomerular disease remains the most common cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide, major advances have been made recently in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms which mediate these disorders. Nephrotic syndrome in non-inflammatory lesions such as minimal change/focal sclerosis and membranous nephropathy results from disorders of the GEC which can be simulated in animal models by antibodies to various GEC membrane epitopes. Clarification of how these antibodies effect the GEC to induce a loss of glomerular barrier function should substantially improve understanding of the pathogenesis of minimal change/focal sclerosis. In MN, proteinuria is mediated primarily by C5b-9 through similar mechanisms that also involve the GEC as a target and GEC production of oxidants, proteases and TGF beta in response to sublytic C5b-9 attack. C5b-9 also mediates mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis induced by anti-measangial cell antibodies and thrombotic microangiopathy induced by antibodies to the glomerular endothelial cell. In all of these lesions induced by antibodies to glomerular cells, cell-bound complement regulatory proteins are important in modulating the injury observed. Upregulation of complement regulatory proteins may prove an effective therapeutic manoeuver in the future. Inflammatory glomerular lesions are induced by circulating inflammatory cells or proliferating resident glomerular cells. Understanding of how these cells induce tissue injury has also evolved considerably over the past decade. Neutrophil-induced disease involves leukocyte adhesion molecules in regulating neutrophil localization; proteases, oxidants and MPO in mediating injury and platelets in augmenting these processes. The activated mesangial cell following immune injury exhibits altered phenotype and proliferation with release of oxidants and proteases. Mesangial cell proliferation may be initiated by bFGF and is maintained by an autocrine mechanism involving PDGF. TGF beta is important in the subsequent development of sclerosis. Finally, recent studies establish the nephritogenic potential of cell-mediated mechanisms alone without humoral immunity, and these mechanisms may be important in glomerulonephritis which occurs in the absence of antibody deposits. As understanding of these areas evolves, numerous new therapeutic strategies can now be devised including agents which selectively block or inhibit complement effects, leukocyte adhesion molecules, oxidants, proteases, growth factors and other cytokines and activated T cells. Appreciation of the role of several natural inhibitors of these mechanisms may also allow therapeutic manipulations that upregulate regulatory proteins with a consequent therapeutic benefit. Thus, these changes in basic understanding of the mechanisms of glomerular disease are likely to translate into new and more specific and effective forms of therapy in the next decade.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a proinflammatory cytokine known to activate macrophages and T cells. In this study, we demonstrate that recombinant MIF delays apoptosis of neutrophils in vitro. MIF action is dose and time dependent as well as specific since it was abolished with a neutralizing anti-MIF antibody. MIF, like G-CSF, delayed cleavage of the proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family Bid and Bax in neutrophils, suggesting that MIF inhibits apoptosis pathways proximal to mitochondria activation. Indeed, MIF also prevented release of cytochrome c and Smac from the mitochondria and subsequent activation of the critical effector caspase-3 in these cells. Moreover, we observed increased MIF plasma levels in patients with cystic fibrosis, a heterogeneous recessive genetic disorder associated with bacterial infections and delayed neutrophil apoptosis. In conclusion, MIF is a survival cytokine for human neutrophils, a finding with potential pathologic relevance in infectious diseases.
Twenty patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with streptokinase (SK) and 11 patients with AMI not treated with SK were clinically and echocardiographically evaluated in the intensive coronary care unit (ICCU). Blood samples, in which complement components C4d, C5b-9, and Bb were measured, were taken immediately after arrival of the patient at the ICCU, 1 hour after SK infusion, and 24 hours later from the SK group, and similar time-matched samples were taken from the control group. The classic, alternative, and common complement pathways were found to be activated in AMI, but this activation was statistically significant only in the SK-treated group. Activation was not related to the site of the AMI nor to the extent of its damage, as assessed by Killip class and ejection fraction. However, in the SK-treated group and even more so in non-SK group, the C5b-9 increment was significantly higher in patients diagnosed with reperfusion, based on ST-segment recovery of > or =50% reduction from the peak ST-segment level. There was little change in complement levels when reperfusion did not occur. Detection of reperfusion without coronary angiography would have important practical clinical implications, and complement activation may predict its occurrence. However, more studies of this phenomenon are needed.
BACKGROUND: Rapid leukocyte adherence to donor organ vasculature is a hallmark of hyperacute xenograft rejection. However, the molecular interactions required for leukocyte binding to vascular endothelium have not been characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS: Binding assays performed between human neutrophils and porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) after exposure to human complement demonstrated that adhesion was mediated by both surface-bound C3b and C5b-9 activity. C5b-9-dependent adhesion was blocked by neuraminidase treatment of the neutrophils, suggesting that this binding was mediated by porcine P-selectin. Porcine P-selectin was isolated from a PAEC cDNA library. The porcine P-selectin primary sequence contained an open reading frame encoding 646 amino acids with 82% identity to human P-selectin. Recombinant soluble porcine P-selectin specifically bound to human neutrophils and HL-60 cells. Transfection of COS cells with the full-length porcine P-selectin cDNA resulted in surface expression of the protein and markedly increased the binding of human neutrophils to these cells. The binding of both soluble and COS-expressed porcine P-selectin to human neutrophils was blocked by pretreatment of the neutrophils with neuraminidase or the addition of EDTA. Finally, treatment of PAEC with human thrombin or normal human serum but not purified human C5a- or C8-deficient human serum resulted in the rapid expression of porcine P-selectin on the cell surface. CONCLUSIONS: This report establishes that porcine P-selectin supports the binding of human neutrophils to PAEC in vitro. Further, these data suggest that sublytic deposition of C5b-9 during hyperacute rejection results in the expression of porcine P-selectin, which may contribute to the rapid adhesion of neutrophils to porcine xenografts.
Because activation of the complement system plays a major role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury, the availability of new specific complement inhibitors represents a promising therapeutic approach. In the present study we investigated pulmonary edema formation and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in acute complement-induced lung injury for possible therapeutic impact of the complement regulators C1 inhibitor and soluble complement receptor 1. Eighteen isolated and ventilated rabbit lungs were perfused with pooled normal human serum (NHS, final concentration 35%) in Krebs-Henseleit buffer in a recirculating system. Lung weight gain and PAP were continuously recorded. Complement activation was blocked by the addition of C1 inhibitor (1.0 U/mL, n = 6) or sCR 1 (2.0 microg/mL, n = 6). Lungs that received NHS without inhibitors served as controls (n = 6). This study was performed according to the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the local government. Application of NHS resulted in an increase of PAP within 20 min from 8+/-2 to 42+/-6 mmHg, which was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased by C1-Inh (25+/-5 mmHg) and sCRI (20 +/-3 mmHg). Moreover, pulmonary edema formation after NHS, as assessed by overall weight gain, was reduced by both C1-Inh and sCR1, compared with controls. These findings were paralleled with significantly decreased thromboxane release rates and reduced tissue deposition of C3c and C5b-9. C1 inhibitor and sCR1 attenuate the complement-induced pulmonary capillary leakage and PAP increase, indicating the protective effect of complement inhibition in isolated perfused rabbit lungs.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Atherosclerosis is characterized by a strong inflammatory component. One factor contributing to inflammation in the arterial intima is the complement system. Here we summarize recent progress in the field of complement research on atherogenesis. RECENT FINDINGS: The complement system is activated in human atherosclerotic lesions and is actively regulated by the local synthesis of complement components and of complement regulatory proteins. Potential triggers of complement activation in the arterial intima include immunocomplexes, C-reactive protein, modified lipoproteins, apoptotic cells, and cholesterol crystals. Complement activation releases anaphylatoxins, and anaphylatoxin receptors have been identified in human atherosclerotic lesions. However, experiments on genetically engineered mice with severe hyperlipidemia have been unable to show a major role for complement in experimental atherogenesis. SUMMARY: In humans there is extensive circumstantial evidence for a role of complement in atherosclerosis, which is somewhat contradictory to recent modest or negative findings in atherosclerosis-prone genetically engineered hyperlipidemic mice.
To establish the clinical relevance of the changes in the complement system in patients with thermal injury, we studied 20 patients who had third-degree burns on more than 60% of total body surface area. Their levels of the C3, C4, soluble C5b-9, and functional hemolytic activities of total (CH50) and alternative (AH50) complement pathways were sequentially measured for 2 weeks after thermal injury. All patients showed low C3 levels initially but increased C3 levels in the following days. The increasing trend of C3 levels was prominent in survivors but transient and diminished in nonsurvivors. The change of levels of C3, CH50, and AH50 was closely associated with one another, and their chronological trends related to the survival of patients (P =.0060,.0064 and.0066, respectively). The recovery of C3, AH50, and CH50 to normal or supranormal level during the early treatment period relates to the survival of patients with thermal injury. The failure of recovery of the complement system indicates a poor prognosis for patients and the monitoring of complement system might be beneficial in the care of patients with thermal injury.