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Measuring the 50% Haemolytic Complement (CH50) Activity of Serum
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Measuring the 50% Haemolytic Complement (CH50) Activity of Serum

Published on: March 29, 2010

Choice and specificity of complement in complement fixation assay

J Sethi, D Pei, Y Hirshaut

    Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    |May 1, 1981
    PubMed

    This study examines the relative activity of various complement sources in a variety of antigen-antibody (Ag-Ab) complement fixation assay systems. Studied were Ag-Ab systems of cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, Pneumococcus, Coccidiodes, and guinea pig kidney. Ab titers in each system were determined by microcomplement fixation assay using two batches of titrated rabbit, monkey, cat, dog, human cord, human adult, and guinea pig sera as complement sources. Assay sensitivity and Ab titers proved to be strongly related to the complement sources. There was considerable variation in the ability of Ag-Ab complexes to bind the complement of each of the species tested. Guinea pig, rabbit, and monkey sera gave comparable titers in four of the five Ag-Ab systems tested. Cat serum complement was able to detect anti-adenovirus and anti-Pneumococcus reactivity only. Human adult, human cord, and dog sera exhibited anti-complementary activity. The study emphasizes the importance of complement source in determining both the specificity and sensitivity of complement fixation assays in a given Ag-Ab system.

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