Quantification of large C3 fragments as an index of complement activation in mice. II. In vivo studies

A method which enables to evaluate the mouse C3 activation has been used to study the activation of the complement system in C57Bl/6 mice injected with cobra venom factor, with Escherichia coli, and with bacterial lipopolysaccharide. It was found that this method was able to detect the complement activation early, at a time when total levels of C3-reacting molecules had not yet decreased.