title: Evolution of the complement system.
abstract: The ancestral form of the alternative pathway of complement activation probably originated as a primitive independent immune system. Subsequent evolution of an adaptive immune response drove the specialization of the classical pathway to connect antibody-mediated nonself recognition to the complement-dependent effector mechanisms. In this article Timothy Farries and John Atkinson consider how the contemporary complexity arose by a succession of credible alterations at the genetic level, and the selective advantages provided at each step.
authors.affiliation: MRC Collaborative Centre, London, UK.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Farries
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Atkinson
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003167:Complement Activation / Q000235:genetics; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000276:immunology; D003170:Complement Pathway, Alternative / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003171:Complement Pathway, Classical / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System
chemical_list: D003176:Complement C3; D003165:Complement System Proteins