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Complement System

Complement System

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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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Methods for Quantitative Detection of Antibody-induced Complement Activation on Red Blood Cells

Methods for Quantitative Detection of Antibody-induced Complement Activation on Red Blood Cells

Published on: January 29, 2014

Ex vivo assays to detect complement activation in complementopathies.

Xuan Yuan¹, Jia Yu¹, Gloria Gerber¹

¹Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Clinical Immunology (Orlando, Fla.)

|November 5, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study refines the modified Ham (mHam) test for complement-driven diseases. New positive controls and C5b-9 measurement improve accuracy in assessing complement activation and guiding personalized treatments.

Keywords:

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome Complement Complement inhibitors Modified HAM assay Shiga toxin 1 Sialidase

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Last Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Methods for Quantitative Detection of Antibody-induced Complement Activation on Red Blood Cells

Methods for Quantitative Detection of Antibody-induced Complement Activation on Red Blood Cells

Published on: January 29, 2014

Depletion of Specific Cell Populations by Complement Depletion

Depletion of Specific Cell Populations by Complement Depletion

Published on: February 5, 2010

In Vitro Methods for Comparing Target Binding and CDC Induction Between Therapeutic Antibodies: Applications in Biosimilarity Analysis

In Vitro Methods for Comparing Target Binding and CDC Induction Between Therapeutic Antibodies: Applications in Biosimilarity Analysis

Published on: May 4, 2017

Area of Science:

Immunology
Hematology
Pathophysiology

Background:

Complement-driven thrombotic microangiopathies cause end-organ damage due to dysregulated complement activation.
The modified Ham (mHam) test assesses complement-mediated cell killing but requires better controls and confirmatory assays.

Purpose of the Study:

To enhance the reliability and diagnostic utility of the mHam assay for complement-mediated diseases.
To identify reliable positive controls and confirmatory measurements for the mHam test.

Main Methods:

Correlating C5b-9 deposition on TF1 PIGAnull cells with cell killing in the mHam test.
Evaluating Sialidase treatment and Shiga toxin 1 as positive controls.
Performing simultaneous mHam assays with C5b-9 measurement and complement inhibitors (anti-C5, factor D inhibitor) to localize defects.

Main Results:

C5b-9 surface accumulation on TF1 PIGAnull cells directly correlates with cell death in the mHam test.
Sialidase treatment or Shiga toxin 1 provide more reliable positive controls than conventional methods.
Combined assays with pathway-specific inhibitors effectively localize complement regulatory defects.

Conclusions:

The enhanced mHam assay, with C5b-9 measurement and improved controls, offers a more robust method for diagnosing complement-mediated diseases.
This assay can aid in selecting personalized therapies by pinpointing specific complement pathway defects.