title: Virus complement evasion strategies.
abstract: The immune system has a variety of tools at its disposal to combat virus infections. These can be subdivided roughly into two categories: 'first line defence', consisting of the non-specific, innate immune system, and 'adaptive immune response', acquired over time following virus infection or vaccination. During evolution, viruses have developed numerous, and often very ingenious, strategies to counteract efficient recognition of virions or virus-infected cells by both innate and adaptive immunity. This review will focus on the different strategies that viruses use to avoid recognition by one of the components of the immune system: the complement system. Complement evasion is of particular importance for viruses, since complement activation is a crucial component of innate immunity (alternative and mannan-binding lectin activation pathway) as well as of adaptive immunity (classical, antibody-dependent complement activation).
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Herman W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Favoreel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gerlinde R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Van de Walle
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Nauwynck
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maurice B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pensaert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003167:Complement Activation; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D051379:Mice; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000472:pathogenicity*
chemical_list: D003165:Complement System Proteins