title: Limited tryptic cleavage of complement factor H abrogates recognition of sialic acid-containing surfaces by the alternative pathway of complement.
abstract: The potency of complement factor H (H) in accelerating the decay of the alternative pathway C3 convertase, C3b,Bb (decay-accelerating activity), was used as a measure of the affinity of native versus trypsin-treated H for the complement protein C3b bound to surfaces. When about 99% of H was cleaved at the primary tryptic cleavage site 34 kDa from the N-terminus, its decay-accelerating activity on C3b,Bb on sheep erythrocytes fell about 60-fold, whereas the trypsin-treated H was only 3-4 times less potent than native H in dissociating C3b,Bb on Sepharose 4B. The residual decay-accelerating activity, remaining after the primary cleavage, was not affected by secondary cleavage at a site 120 kDa from the N-terminus, as shown with H preparations cleaved to different degrees. Because cell surface sialic acid is known to be responsible for the high affinity of H for C3b bound on sheep erythrocytes, the results strongly suggest that the integrity of the primary tryptic cleavage site of H is essential for the recognition of sialic acid-containing surfaces by the C3b-H complex.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Helsinki.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Koistinen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003179:Complement C3b / Q000378:metabolism; D003180:Complement C3b Inactivator Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017242:Complement Factor H; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012756:Sheep; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D014357:Trypsin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003180:Complement C3b Inactivator Proteins; D012794:Sialic Acids; D003179:Complement C3b; D017242:Complement Factor H; D014357:Trypsin