Assessment of complement activation in vivo

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Assessment of complement activation in vivo
Creators Name:	Oppermann, M., Höpken, U. and Götze, O.
Abstract:	Hemolytic assays that measure the functional integrity of the complement system and the quantitation of individual components by immunochemical techniques have been widely used in the past for the assessment of in vivo complement activation. However, the complement system comprises a large number of interacting serum proteins which are subject to independent synthetic and catabolic processes. The fact that complement proteins are rapidly metabolized under in vivo conditions adds to the complexity of complement analysis. Assays that are based on monoclonal antibodies with specificities for activation-dependent neoepitopes now allow the direct determination of complement fragments in plasma. These methods are superior to the quantitation of native proteins. Several parameters that differentially affect the generation or the catabolism of individual complement activation products still have to be taken into account when elevated plasma levels of complement fragments suggest in vivo complement activation. These factors include the binding to complement fragment receptors, the degradation by serum proteases and renal or hepatic clearance. An accurate estimation of complement activation in vivo requires the simultaneous determination of both the native components and the activation products.
Keywords:	Complement Analysis, Complement Activation, Monoclonal Antibody, Neoantigen, Animals
Source:	Immunopharmacology
ISSN:	0162-3109
Publisher:	Elsevier
Volume:	24
Number:	2
Page Range:	119-34
Date:	September 1992
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3109(92)90018-8
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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