title: Complement inhibitors in tears of different species.
abstract: Tears of various species were investigated for the presence of inhibitors of the complement system. Rat and mouse tears contained strong anti-complementary activity, whereas goat, guinea pig, rabbit and rhesus monkey gave approximately the same inhibition as human tears. The chicken and cat only contained weak anti-complementary activity. Further analysis of the complement inhibitors in rabbit tears by gel-filtration and SDS-PAGE suggests that a small tear protein (approximately 20 000 daltons) may be involved in the anti-complementary effect in this species. Studies concerning the mechanism of inhibition in rabbit tears show that the complement cascade is inhibited after the EAC14 intermediate has been formed. The fact that various species were shown to have complement inhibitors in their tear film now enables the investigation of the physiological role of these factors.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002645:Chickens; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006041:Goats; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D013666:Tears / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D003169:Complement Inactivator Proteins