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Related Concept Videos

Complement System01:27

Complement System

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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...
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Complementation Tests00:49

Complementation Tests

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A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...
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Structure and Function of Leukocytes01:21

Structure and Function of Leukocytes

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An adult in good health typically has between 4,500 and 11,000 leukocytes, or white blood cells, per microliter of blood, which constitutes about 1% of the total blood volume. Unlike red blood cells, white blood cells contain a nucleus and other cellular organelles but do not have hemoglobin. Most white blood cells reside in connective tissues, particularly in lymphatic organs such as the lymph nodes, with only a small fraction present in circulating blood.
White blood cells protect the body...
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Antimicrobial Proteins01:23

Antimicrobial Proteins

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Antimicrobial proteins are important components of the immune system. They aid the body in combating pathogens by either killing them directly or hindering their replication processes. Four main types of antimicrobial substances are interferons, the complement system, iron-binding proteins, and antimicrobial proteins.
Interferons
Interferons (IFNs) are proteins produced by lymphocytes, macrophages, and fibroblasts infected with viruses. While IFNs cannot prevent viruses from entering and...
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Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts01:57

Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts

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Groups of proteins may form a complex where each protein in this complex has a different role in the overall execution of the complex’s function. Often some of the proteins in the complex can be replaced by a closely related variant to give a complex that contains many of the same components yet is functionally distinct.
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Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts01:57

Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Evaluation of the Interplay Between the Complement Protein C1q and Hyaluronic Acid in Promoting Cell Adhesion
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Evaluation of the Interplay Between the Complement Protein C1q and Hyaluronic Acid in Promoting Cell Adhesion

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How novel structures inform understanding of complement function.

Elena Goicoechea de Jorge1, Hugo Yebenes2, Marina Serna2

  • 1Department of Microbiology I (Immunology), Complutense University School of Medicine and 12 de Octubre Health Research Institute (imas12), Madrid, Spain.

Seminars in Immunopathology
|August 16, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Structural biology has significantly advanced our understanding of complement pathways, revealing new insights into complement activation, C3 convertases, and the membrane attack complex. This review focuses on the alternative and terminal complement pathways.

Keywords:
C3\C5 convertaseComplementComplement regulatorsFactor HMembrane attack complexStructural biology

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Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Structural Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • The complement system is crucial for innate and adaptive immunity.
  • Recent years have seen major progress in understanding complement mechanisms.
  • Structural biology has been pivotal in these advancements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent findings in complement research.
  • To highlight the role of structural biology in understanding complement pathways.
  • To focus on the alternative and terminal complement pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature.
  • Analysis of structural data from complement components.
  • Focus on mechanistic insights from structural biology.

Main Results:

  • Enhanced understanding of complement activator recognition.
  • Detailed insights into C3 activation and convertase assembly.
  • New perspectives on membrane attack complex formation and regulation.

Conclusions:

  • Structural biology provides critical insights into complement function.
  • Novel structural data has challenged and refined existing knowledge.
  • The alternative and terminal complement pathways have been significantly elucidated.