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The complement system is a group of approximately 20 plasma proteins that strengthen the body's defenses against infections through opsonization, inflammation, and cell lysis. Opsonization involves coating pathogens with complement proteins, making them more recognizable and facilitating phagocyte engulfment. Certain complement proteins induce inflammation that attracts immune cells to the site of infection. Cell lysis involves the destruction of pathogens through the formation of a membrane...
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Ficolins: complement-activating lectins involved in innate immunity.

Misao Matsushita1

  • 1Department of Applied Biochemistry, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Japan. mmatsu@keyaki.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp

Journal of Innate Immunity
|April 9, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Serum ficolins, a type of lectin, bind to bacterial carbohydrates and activate the complement system. This innate immunity mechanism helps clear bacterial infections through opsonization and bacterial lysis.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Ficolins are oligomeric lectins with collagen-like and fibrinogen-like domains.
  • Most identified ficolins recognize N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), a common bacterial carbohydrate moiety.
  • Human ficolin structures reveal the fibrinogen-like domain's role in binding N-acetylated sugars.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the role of serum ficolins in innate immunity.
  • To understand the mechanism of ficolin-mediated bacterial recognition and complement activation.

Main Methods:

  • Structural analysis (X-ray crystallography) of human ficolins.
  • Biochemical assays to study ficolin-carbohydrate interactions.
  • Investigation of ficolin-MASP complex function in complement activation.

Main Results:

  • Ficolins bind to N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) on bacterial surfaces.
  • Serum ficolins associate with MBL-associated serine proteases (MASPs) forming functional complexes.
  • The ficolin-MASP complex initiates complement activation via the lectin pathway upon bacterial binding.

Conclusions:

  • Serum ficolins are key components of the innate immune system.
  • Ficolin-MASP complexes facilitate bacterial clearance through complement activation, opsonization (C3b generation), and membrane attack complex-mediated lysis.