The role of complement in inflammation and adaptive immunity.
Major advances in our understanding of the immunobiology of complement were made within the past 5 years primarily due to the development of gene-targeting technology. New strains of mice bearing specific deficiencies in serum complement proteins or their receptors were developed using this approach. Characterization of these mice has provided new and exciting insights into the biology of the complement system. In this review, we discuss recent results on two important aspects of the complement system, i) host protection and inflammation, and ii) regulation of B lymphocytes of adaptive immunity. While these two roles appear distinct, they are linked. We discuss how natural antibody and classical pathway complement work together in host protection against bacterial infection on the one hand but, on the other, they co-operate to induce inflammation as observed in reperfusion injury. Significantly, the lymphocytes that produce natural antibody, the B-1 lymphocytes, are regulated in part by the complement system.
Barrington
R
R
The Center for Blood Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Zhang
M
M
Fischer
M
M
Carroll
M C
MC
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D002678:Chimera; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D003171:Complement Pathway, Classical; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004285:Dogs; D018390:Gene Targeting; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D023421:Models, Animal; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000276:immunology; D011951:Receptors, Complement / Q000502:physiology; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000276:immunology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D003176:Complement C3; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C499311:RAG2 protein, human; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse; D011951:Receptors, Complement; C064655:V(D)J recombination activating protein 2; D003165:Complement System Proteins