Complement: the Iceman of immunology?

Complement provides an important host defence system involved in a multitude of immune reactions, including opsonisation of micro-organisms, enhancement of inflammatory response, immunomodulation, clearance of immune complexes and cell lysis. The 6th European Meeting on Complement in Human Disease, 12-15 March 1997 in Innsbruck, Austria, the preservation site of the neolithic Iceman, addressed the functional role of complement and its regulators in human disease. The scientific presentations clearly demonstrated that complement is not a redundant fossil, evolving since the dawn of vertebrate existence on the earth, but remains continuously important for mankind.