title: Human adipsin is identical to complement factor D and is expressed at high levels in adipose tissue.
abstract: A cDNA for human adipsin was isolated and shown to encode a protein sharing 98% amino acid sequence similarity with the protein sequence previously determined for purified natural human complement factor D. Like mouse adipsin, recombinant human adipsin displays the enzymatic activity of human complement factor D, cleaving complement factor B only when B is complexed with activated complement component C3. We conclude that human adipsin is equivalent to complement factor D and that adipsin is the homologue of factor D in rodents. Adipose tissue is a major site of synthesis of human adipsin/complement factor D mRNA, but unlike the case in rodents, human adipsin mRNA is also expressed in monocytes/macrophages. The data presented here, demonstrating the equivalence of human adipsin to complement factor D and its high level of expression in fat, suggest a previously unsuspected role for adipose tissue in immune system biology.
authors.affiliation: California Biotechnology Inc., Mountain View 94043.
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Damm
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hancock
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lowell
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Usher
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Flier
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Spiegelman
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D016466:CHO Cells; D011415:Complement Factor B / Q000378:metabolism; D011416:Complement Factor D / Q000235:genetics*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C493488:CFD protein, human; D011416:Complement Factor D; C493491:complement factor D, mouse; D011415:Complement Factor B