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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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Antibody Actions01:26

Antibody Actions

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Antibodies, or immunoglobulins, are critical players in the immune system's arsenal against invading pathogens. Produced by B cells and plasma cells, their primary role is to detect and bind to specific antigens, molecules found on the surface of pathogens like bacteria or viruses. Beyond antigen recognition, antibodies perform several vital functions that contribute to immune defense.
Neutralization
Antibodies can bind to pathogens, preventing them from infecting host cells. This process...
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Protein Complex Assembly02:41

Protein Complex Assembly

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Proteins can form homomeric complexes with another unit of the same protein or heteromeric complexes with different types.  Most protein complexes self-assemble spontaneously via ordered pathways, while some proteins need assembly factors that guide their proper assembly. Despite the crowded intracellular environment, proteins usually interact with their correct partners and form functional complexes.
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
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Antibody Structure and Classes01:25

Antibody Structure and Classes

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Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins, are produced by B cells in response to foreign substances, such as bacteria and viruses. These proteins are critical for recognizing and neutralizing these substances, protecting the body from potential harm.
The basic structure of an antibody consists of four protein chains: two identical heavy chains and two identical light chains. These chains are held together by disulfide bonds and other non-covalent interactions, forming a Y-shaped structure.
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Antibody Structure01:10

Antibody Structure

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Overview
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), are essential players of the adaptive immune system. These antigen-binding proteins are produced by B cells and make up 20 percent of the total blood plasma by weight. In mammals, antibodies fall into five different classes, which each elicits a different biological response upon antigen binding.
The Y-Shaped Structure of Antibodies Consists of Four Polypeptide Chains
Antibodies consist of four polypeptide chains: two identical heavy...
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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.
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
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Updated: Nov 28, 2025

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

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How Structures of Complement Complexes Guide Therapeutic Design.

Jasmine K Bickel1,2, Tomas B Voisin1, Edward W Tate2

  • 1Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Ernst Chain Building, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.

Sub-Cellular Biochemistry
|November 30, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The complement system

Keywords:
C5Complement therapeuticsCryo electron microscopyMACPFMembrane attack complexStructure-guided drug discovery

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Area of Science:

  • Immunology and Structural Biology

Background:

  • The complement system is crucial for immune defense and regulating inflammation.
  • Terminal pathway activation leads to the membrane attack complex (MAC), a pore-forming structure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the structural mechanisms of MAC formation.
  • To explore the role of regulatory complexes in complement therapeutics.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing recent cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) data.
  • Analyzing atomic resolution structures of MAC assembly.

Main Results:

  • CryoEM revealed significant conformational changes during MAC assembly.
  • Soluble proteins undergo a transition into a large beta-barrel pore structure.

Conclusions:

  • Structural insights explain MAC formation and membrane rupture.
  • Understanding these structures aids in developing complement-targeted therapies.