title: Constitutive expression of proinflammatory complement components by subsets of neurons in the central nervous system.
abstract: The brain is largely protected from damage due to infection, trauma, and aberrant processes by the innate immune system. These studies were undertaken to determine whether neurons in normal brains constitutively express complement components. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical studies with specific riboprobes and antibodies, respectively, revealed that most hippocampal neurons, many pyramidal cortical neurons and cerebellar Purkinje neurons in normal murine brains constitutively express C3, C5 and C6. The constitutive expression by neuronal subsets of components of the complement activation and membrane attack pathways suggests that the complement system represents a "first line" of host defense in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute, IMM-19, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Jack X
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bonnie M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Bradt
authors.forename: Neil R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology*; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003182:Complement C5 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003183:Complement C6 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D003176:Complement C3; D003182:Complement C5; D003183:Complement C6; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins