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Synovial fibroblast-like cells synthesize seven proteins of the complement system.

Fibroblast-like cells from synovial tissue obtained during arthroscopy in 4 young adults with recent knee trauma were biosynthetically labeled with 35S-methionine, and protein production was quantitated by immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Synovial fibroblast-like cells synthesized C1r, C1s, C1 inhibitor, C2, C3, factor B, and factor H, all with the same sizes and subunit structures as the proteins synthesized in skin fibroblasts. The capacity to synthesize these proteins was not lost with passages or freeze-thawing. Gamma-interferon stimulation increased synthesis of all 7 proteins. Lipopolysaccharide increased synthesis of only C3 and factor B. Unlike in whole rheumatoid tissue, C4 and C5 were not detected. Synovial lining cells may be an important source of local complement for participation in local defense or development of pathologic states.

Cell Adhesion↗

Roles of the complement system in human neurodegenerative disorders: pro-inflammatory and tissue remodeling activities.

Complement is an important component of the innate immune response with the capacity to recognize and clear infectious challenges that invade the CNS through a damaged blood brain barrier. For instance, the membrane attack complex is involved in cytotoxic and cytolytic activities while other smaller fragments lead to cell activation (chemotaxis) and phagocytosis of the intruders. It is noteworthy that there is a growing body of evidence that uncontrolled complement biosynthesis and activation in the CNS can contribute to exacerbate the neuronal loss in several neurodegenerative disorders. We provide here an insightful review of the double-edged sword activities of the local innate complement system in the CNS and discuss further the potential therapeutic avenues of delivering complement inhibitors to control brain inflammation.

Animals↗

Complement regulation.

Because of its strong potential for generating inflammation and causing tissue destruction the complement system has to be kept strictly under control. Cells of the host need special protection against the cytolytic complement system. This paper will describe how inappropriate activation of complement in the fluid phase is prevented and how viable human blood cells defend themselves against being destroyed and cleared away by the complement system. Since disturbances in complement regulation occasionally result in disease a brief reference will be made to two of the syndromes caused by complement regulator deficiency, hereditary angioedema (HAE) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).

Angioedema↗

C3 nephritic factor and mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis.

The association of a C3 splitting activity, known as C3 nephritic factor (C3NeF), with mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis (MCGN), especially MCGN type II, has long been known. Several forms of C3NeF are now recognised, the main one being an IgG which acts as an autoantibody binding to factor H, a normally occurring component of the complement system. Complement is in a continuous state of activation with inbuilt checks and controls, and factor H plays a very important part in the controlling mechanisms by preventing the overwhelming activation of complement at the stage of C3 conversion. C3NeF binds to factor H, thus preventing its inhibitory action, and allowing complement activation to proceed with, in vivo, the well-known consequences in MCGN of very low serum levels of C3. The question naturally arose whether C3NeF causes MCGN. Complex relationships between MCGN, C3NeF and partial lipodystrophy, also characterised by C3NeF and hypocomplementaemia, but preceding the development of MCGN, suggest that hypocomplementaemia predisposes to MCGN. Another possibility is that C3NeF acts directly within glomeruli to cause local complement activation and ensuing damage. Neither possibility could be resolved, but some recent observations have restimulated interest in a possible causative role for C3NeF in MCGN. First, factor H deficiency, by mechanisms other than blocking by C3NeF, in animals and man is associated with MCGN. Second, adipocytes, now known themselves to produce complement system proteins, are lysed in vitro by C3NeF, thus suggesting a mechanism for partial lipodystrophy. By analogy, the C3NeF may produce glomerular damage, as glomerular cells produce complement components.

Adolescent↗

Incorporation of decay-accelerating factor into the baculovirus envelope generates complement-resistant gene transfer vectors.

Baculovirus vectors are an efficient means to deliver genes into hepatocytes in vitro. In experiments that exclude components of the complement system, gene transfer is facilitated. Therefore, the complement system has been defined to represent a potent primary barrier to direct application of baculoviruses in vivo. Here we have genetically manipulated baculoviruses so that the complement-regulatory protein human decay- accelerating factor (DAF) is incorporated into the viral envelope. We found that this modification protected baculovirus vectors against complement-mediated inactivation. Complement-resistant baculovirus vectors were additionally analyzed by immunoblotting and electron microscopy, showing the extent of envelope-incorporated DAF and shape of complement-resistant baculoviruses after exposure to complement. This modified baculovirus vector allowed for an enhanced gene transfer into complement-sufficient neonatal rats in vivo, and thus represents a step in the development of improved alternative viral vectors for gene therapy.

Animals↗

A tumor-expressed inhibitor of the early but not late complement lytic pathway enhances tumor growth in a rat model of human breast cancer.

Membrane-bound complement inhibitors protect host cells from inadvertent complement attack, and complement inhibitors are often up-regulated on tumors, possibly representing a selective adaptation by tumors to escape elimination by a host antitumor immune response. Relevant in vivo studies using rodent models of human cancer have been hampered by the fact that human complement inhibitors are not effective against rodent complement. Using nude rats and MCF7 cells expressing different rat complement inhibitors, a model of human breast cancer was established to investigate the role of complement and complement inhibitors in tumor progression. Expression of rat CD59, an inhibitor of the terminal cytolytic membrane attack complex of complement, had no effect on the incidence or growth rate of MCF7 tumors. In contrast, expression of rat Crry, an inhibitor of complement activation, dramatically enhanced the tumorigenicity of MCF7 cells. The expression of rat Crry on MCF7 inhibited the in vivo deposition of complement C3 fragments that serve as opsonins for receptors on phagocytes and natural killer cells. These data provide direct in vivo evidence that an inhibitor of complement activation can facilitate tumor growth by modulating C3 deposition. These data indicate an important role for complement opsonization in promoting cell-mediated antitumor immune function, a conclusion further supported by the demonstration that expression of rat Crry, but not rat CD59, on MCF7 cells inhibits rat cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. Rat complement activation on MCF7 tumors was mediated by tumor-reactive antibodies present in the serum of naïve nude rats, but there was also an IgM response to MCF7 tumors, a situation with similarities to some human cancers. These data support a hypothesis that blocking complement inhibitor function on tumor cells will not only enhance monoclonal antibody-mediated immunotherapy but may also be effective at enhancing a normally ineffective humoral immune response in the absence of administered antitumor antibody.

Animals↗

Induction of the paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria phenotype in normal human erythrocytes: effects of 2-aminoethylisothiouronium bromide on membrane proteins that regulate complement.

To investigate the mechanism by which treatment of normal human erythrocytes with the sulfhydryl reagent 2-aminoethylisothiouronium bromide (AET) induces susceptibility to complement mediated lysis, the effects of AET on the structural and functional integrity of decay accelerating factor (DAF), membrane inhibitor of reactive lysis (MIRL), and complement receptor type 1 (CR1) were examined. Following treatment with AET, erythrocyte MIRL and CR1 were no longer recognized in situ by antibodies, and antibody binding to DAF was diminished by approximately 50%. These studies indicated that the structural integrity of the three complement regulatory proteins was either partially (DAF) or completely (MIRL and CR1) disrupted by AET. Subsequent experiments showed that functional inactivation paralleled the structural disruption. Treatment of normal erythrocytes with AET induced susceptibility to cobra venom factor-initiated hemolysis, indicating that the functional activity of MIRL had been destroyed. The capacity of erythrocyte CR1 to serve as a cofactor for factor I-mediated cleavage of iC3b to C3c and C3dg was lost following treatment with AET. C3 convertase activity increase markedly following treatment of erythrocytes with AET, but convertase activity on AET cells was approximately 50% less than that observed when DAF function on normal cells was completely inhibited by antibody. Susceptibility of AET cells to acidified serum lysis was shown to be due primarily to inactivation of MIRL. Unexpectedly, in acidified serum the activity of the amplification C3 convertase of the APC was found to be controlled by MIRL as well as by DAF. These studies show that AET induces susceptibility to complement-mediated lysis by disrupting the structural and functional integrity of membrane constituents that regulate the activity of both the C3 convertases and the membrane attack complex of complement.

Antibodies↗

Prolongation of discordant renal xenograft survival by depletion of complement. Comparative effects of systemically administered cobra venom factor and soluble complement receptor type 1 in a guinea-pig to rat model.

There is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that inhibition of complement activation may be a valuable approach to avert hyperacute rejection. In our study, the guinea-pig to rat discordant kidney xenograft model was adapted for the investigation of renal transplant function and an attempt was made to delay the hyperacute rejection using systemically administered cobra venom factor (CVF) and soluble complement receptor type 1 (sCR1). The saline-treated control recipients experienced a rapid transplant rejection with a xenograft survival averaging 10.5 +/- 2.1 min. Administration of a single 60 U/kg i.v. bolus of CVF significantly prolonged renal graft survival to 20.4 +/- 2.5 h, and by a single bolus of sCR1 (50 mg/kg) a prolongation of graft survival to 18.8 +/- 2.3 h was achieved. The grafts functioned only over periods of 2.5 +/- 0.3 and 2.3 +/- 0.2 h, respectively. No complications of sCR1 were noted. We concluded that complement inhibition by sCR1 may be an important component in the therapeutic approach aiming at the prevention of hyperacute rejection in human organ transplantation.

Animals↗

Effects of LDL-apheresis on serum lipoprotein (a), C4b binding protein, protein C, protein S, and complement components.

The short-term effects of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis using a dextran sulfate-cellulose (DSC) column equipped with a plasma separator using a polysulfone (PS) membrane filter on the serum total cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), C4b binding protein (C4bp), protein C and protein S and complement components levels were examined in a patient with familial hypercholesterolemia (heterozygote, type IIa). PS/DSC-LDL apheresis markedly lowered the total cholesterol by 69.9 +/- 2.9%, serum Lp(a) level by 80.2 +/- 3.4%, and C4bp by 81.1 +/- 2.5% after 8 apheresis sessions. All the above parameters gradually returned to the baseline levels within 10 days. The free protein S level was not significantly changed, while the C4bp/protein S complex level was markedly decreased relative to the decrease in C4bp. The protein C level was moderately reduced by 29%. Almost all serum complements and complement co-factors as well as C4bp were moderately to markedly decreased after LDL apheresis, but returned to the initial levels within a few days. PS/DSC-LDL apheresis effectively eliminated both serum LDL and Lp(a), and did not have an adverse effect on fibrinolysis or complement cascade in the blood.

Adult↗