Complement lysis of resealed red cell membrane ghosts pretreated with glutaraldehyde.
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Changes in the concentration of the components of complement produced by NaOC1 both in vitro and in vivo are recorded. C1, C4 and C7 are particularly sensitive to this oxidizing agent, although all components decrease at high concentrations of NaOC1. Following oxidation, complement componenets return rapidly to normal. Data are presented to indicate that part of this repair mechanism is due to the action of reducing agents such as ascorbic acid and part is due to the synthesis of the individual components. The unique sensitivity of complement components to oxidation make this treatment of potential value in suppressing the inflammatory response.
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Proteolysis of fluid-phase SC5b-9 left a major part of the macromolecule intact and caused transition of the molecule from a hydrophilic to an amphiphilic state. The transformed complex exhibited neoantigens characteristic of the C5b-9 membrane attack complex of the complement. It yielded an SDS gel electrophoresis pattern that was similar, but not identical to that of the proteolysed, membrane attack complex. The proteolytically altered SC5b-9 complex bound lipid and incorporated into artificial lipid vesicles to yield a membrane-bound structure resembling the C5b-9 complement lesion.
The membrane attack complex of complement (C5b-9) is identical in composition regardless of which pathway of activation was instrumental in its formation. Band V protein was consistently a subunit of the soluble complex. Since band V protein is not required for complement-dependent cytolysis, it probably represents a membrane site equivalent in serum of the nascent C5b-9 complex.
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Exposure of gram-negative bacteria to a source of antibody and complement frequently results in efficient cell killing; this effect follows the deposition of C5b-9 membrane attack complexes onto the bacterial surface. This review examines the molecular and physiological events culminating in C5b-9 deposition and cell death and advances an hypothesis that may account for cytoplasmic-membrane damage following complement-mediated perturbation of the outer membrane.
Terminal complement complex (TCC) and C1r-C1s-C1 inhibitor complex (C1/C1 INH) concentrations were measured in plasma and synovial fluid from patients with arthritis and related to other measures of disease activity. Both TCC and C1/C1 INH concentrations were significantly increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with patients with osteoarthritis (plasma and synovial fluid, P less than 0.05) and normal subjects (plasma only, P less than 0.001). In the patients with RA, there was no correlation between plasma or synovial fluid TCC concentrations and IgM rheumatoid factor, immune complex or C1/C1 INH levels. However, in 10 patients with seronegative RA, C1/C1 INH and immune complex levels correlated significantly in synovial fluid (r = 0.69, P less than 0.05) although not in plasma (r = 0.52). Plasma and synovial fluid TCC and C1/C1 INH concentrations did not differ in rheumatoid patients with severe compared with mild joint disease (categorized by the Ritchie score). These results confirm a role for complement activation in RA but suggest that several mechanisms are involved in its pathogenesis.
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The terminal complement sequence is initiated upon cleavage of C5 with liberation of C5a anaphylatoxin, and involves the assembly of macromolecular C5b-9 complexes either on cell surfaces or in plasma. Cell-bound C5b-9 complexes generate transmembrane pores that can cause cell death, or they can elicit secondary cellular reactions triggered, for example, by passive flux of calcium ions into the cells. In vivo functions of the fluid-phase SC5b-9 complex have not yet been defined, but the identity of S-protein with vitronectin (serum spreading factor) provokes the anticipation that significant biological functions of this complex do exist. The terminal complement sequence may fulfill protective functions when it is triggered on alien cells that are marked for destruction. Dysregulation in the complement sequence may, however, result in detrimental attack by C5b-9 on autologous cells. Examples include not only autoimmune disease states, but also the activation of complement on dead or dying cells, and bystander attack on blood cells during cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods for detecting and quantifying C5b-9 are outlined, and the potential usefulness of such assays in clinical research is discussed.
Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) and large granular lymphocytes contain dense cytoplasmic granules which, when isolated, are lytic for a variety of target cells. Granule proteins are released from the effector cell upon target cell interaction, further suggesting that they play a role in the cytolytic mechanism. Major proteins in CTL granules are a family of serine esterases (granzymes) and a pore-forming protein called perforin (cytolysin). Despite structural similarities between functionally conserved regions of perforin and the ninth component of complement (C9), these two lytic molecules are clearly distinct in their mode of target cell recognition. Perforin, unlike C9, is not dependent on a protein receptor molecule but binds to the target cell membrane via phosphorylcholine in a Ca2(+)-dependent manner. Here, we discuss the stimulus-secretion model for T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity with respect to our current understanding of perforin and the granzyme proteases.
Epithelial cells of the glomerular capillary are the site of C5b-9 mediated injury in rat membranous nephropathy. We investigated the regulation of C activation by cultured glomerular epithelial cells (GEC). Rat and human GEC were more resistant to C injury by homologous C than heterologous C. In human GEC homologous C cytotoxicity was enhanced by antiserum to decay accelerating factor (DAF) indicating that homologous C activation was, at least in part, restricted by membrane DAF. Anti-DAF immunoprecipitated a 67-kDa protein from human glomeruli. In rat GEC, pronase and phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (which are known to inactivate human DAF) enhanced cytotoxicity by homologous C. Thus, DAF is present on human GEC in culture and in human kidney glomeruli, and a DAF-like protein is present on cultured rat GEC. These proteins regulate C activation in vitro and may play a role in controlling C activation on GEC in vivo.
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Study populations of 170 male smokers and 170 age- and sex-matched nonsmokers were used to determine the effects of cigarette smoking on pulmonary function, peripheral blood leukocytes and phase reactive proteins. Further, the interrelationships between these parameters were sought. Consistent with their young age (mean 37 years) and relatively brief smoking history (mean 24 pack-years), the smokers had a significant, yet modest, impairment of pulmonary function as measured by both forced expiratory spirometry and the single breath nitrogen/closing volume test. Smokers exhibited a significant elevation in total peripheral blood leukocytes which was attributable to increases in neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils. Similarly, significant increases in the "phase reactive" proteins [i.e., the ninth component of complement (C9), ceruloplasmin and alpha 1-protease inhibitor (alpha 1-PI)] were also observed in smokers. Increases in total leukocytes, neutrophils, C9 and alpha 1-PI were significantly associated with present and cumulative cigarette consumption, blood levels of smoke constituents/metabolites (i.e., carboxyhemoglobin, nicotine and cotinine) and impaired pulmonary function (i.e., FEV1 and FVC). However, duration of smoking (years smoked) and pack-years smoking history were the best predictors of elevations in inflammatory mediators and pulmonary dysfunction. These data support the hypotheses that: a low grade inflammatory reaction is induced in smokers and is dependent upon a dose-related exposure to smoke; and the smoking-induced changes in inflammatory mediators are associated with the observed pulmonary dysfunction.
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