title: Complement diversity: a mechanism for generating immune diversity?
abstract: Unlike mammalian species, several cold-blooded species have been shown to possess multiple forms of complement components. The multiple forms of C3 characterized in several fish species can bind with different specificities to various complement-activating surfaces. Here, Oriol Sunyer, Ioannis Zarkadis and John Lambris explore the possible advantages conferred by having multiple forms of individual complement proteins in a single organism.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Pathology and Laboratory of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. suner@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Sunyer
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Zarkadis
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lambris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005399:Fishes / Q000276:immunology; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000276:immunology*; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D010802:Phylogeny; D011817:Rabbits; D012756:Sheep; D015054:Zymosan / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D003176:Complement C3; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D015054:Zymosan