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The alternative complement pathway in chickens. Purification of factor B and production of a monospecific antibody against it.

Restoring the haemolytic activity of heat-treated chicken serum was used to monitor an initial purification of chicken complement component factor B of the alternative complement pathway. The partially purified factor B was used to prepare a monospecific rabbit antiserum against factor B, and this antiserum was now used to monitor and establish a purification scheme for chicken factor B which could be used for large-scale purifications. The final purification involved precipitation with polyethyleneglycol, ion exchange chromatography on CM 52-cellulose, gel-filtration on Sephadex G 200, elution from a Con A-Sepharose column, and finally ion exchange chromatography on a DE 52-cellulose column. 2.8 mg of factor B was purified from 100 ml of chicken plasma with a yield of 28%. Purity was high as judged from crossed immunoelectrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, and from immunizations of rabbits with the factor B preparation. The purification gave preliminary indications that chicken factor B is a glycoprotein with beta-mobility and with a molecular weight around 95 Kd.

Animals↗

Effect of cetylmannoside modification on the alternative complement pathway activation by liposomes in rat serum.

Complement activation is important for removing foreign substances by the mononuclear phagocyte system in vivo. The interaction between liposomes and complement components is considered to affect the clearance of liposomes from the circulation. It has been previously demonstrated in our laboratory that multilamellar vesicles (MLV) with surfaces modified by cetylmannoside (Man) were eliminated from the circulation rapidly and showed an approximately 2-fold higher hepatic accumulation compared with control MLV (PC-MLV) (Yamashita et al., Int. J. Pharmaceut., 70, 225, 1991). In this study, we investigated the effect of Man-modification on complement system activation. As far as elimination from the blood is concerned, the initial values of blood liposome concentration were decreased and liposomes were removed from the circulation rapidly in accordance with the extent of the Man content into their membranes. The Man-modification also affected the organ distribution of injected liposomes and their stability in rat serum. Except for MLV containing 50 mol% Man, it was observed that the hepatic uptake of liposomes was enhanced according to the increasing Man content, whereas splenic uptake was decreased and the splenic clearance was comparable. The stability of liposomes in rat serum decreased with increasing Man content. Liposomal instability in rat serum was significantly reduced by preheating the serum at 56 degrees C for 30 min, the treatment with anti-C3 antiserum and with EDTA but not abolished in serum treated with EGTA/MgCl2. Thus, it is considered that the activation of the complement system through the alternative pathway is facilitated as a result of increasing the Man content in the liposomes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

[Activation of the alternative complement pathway by Newcastle disease virus. I) Effect of the virus on the complement system in vivo and in vitro].

The authors have studied the effect of the paramyxovirus of Newcastle disease on the complement system in the mouse. The results obtained show that NDV activate both in vivo and in vitro the alternative complement pathway, suggesting that the intervention of complement system during viral infections represents a general biological phenomenon.

Animals↗

The inhibitory effect of factor J on the alternative complement pathway.

Factor J (FJ) is a cationic glycoprotein with inhibitory activity in C1, the first component of the classical complement pathway. This study demonstrates that FJ is able to regulate the activity of the alternative complement pathway. FJ inhibits the generation of fluid-phase and cell-bound alternative pathway C3 convertase, C3b,Bb (C3-cleaving enzyme). Thus, FJ interferes with the generation of alternative pathway C3 convertase when sheep erythrocytes bearing antibody and activated C3 and C4 (EAC4b,3b) are incubated with the individual complement components, factors B, D, and P. FJ accelerates the decay of C3 convertase with a time course similar to that of factor H, and when both regulators are present together, the decay of enzyme activity is faster than when they are added separately. Furthermore, FJ is able to inhibit the cleavage of C3 by factor B in a fluid-phase assay. FJ prevents the initiation of alternative pathway activation in "more stabilized systems" with well known activators of alternative pathway C3 convertase such as C3 nephritic factor (an autoantibody against alternative pathway C3 convertase), cobra venom factor, and rabbit erythrocytes. In these systems, FJ has no effect on C3 convertase stabilized by rabbit erythrocytes or cobra venom factor. In contrast, FJ promotes the dissociation of C3 convertase stabilized by C3 nephritic factor, but with much lower efficiency than in preventing initiation. Direct interaction of FJ with individual components of C3 convertase was shown by a solid-phase binding assay using plates coated with C3, C3b, B, Bb, or FJ. FJ inhibitory activity in the alternative pathway can be modulated by polyanions like heparin. FJ-mediated inhibition in the alternative complement pathway can be modified by surface interactions, as occurs during alternative pathway C3 convertase activation. Thus, when FJ is adsorbed by and eluted from hydroxylapatite and reverse-phase columns, its inhibitory effect on more stabilized systems is lost. This loss of inhibitory activity is fully reversed when FJ is rechromatographed on heparin-Sepharose or Sepharose columns. Taking into account these data, FJ may be included in the group of highly charged molecules that inhibit the activation of classical and alternative complement pathways (i.e. eosinophil major basic protein, protamine, and heparin).

Animals↗

Alternative complement pathway activation by Salmonella O polysaccharide as a virulence determinant in the mouse.

The quality of Salmonella O polysaccharide (the O antigen) is a virulence factor in mouse salmonellosis. It affects the rate by which these bacteria are phagocytosed and by which they activate the alternative complement pathway in a manner inversely proportional to their virulence, suggesting that the rate of complement activation is crucial for the fate of the bacteria in the mouse. The effector mechanism has, however, remained open since Salmonellae survive and multiply in the macrophages of the mouse. We show in this study that although the least virulent O-6,7 Salmonellae multiply in the liver macrophages they are rapidly killed in the peritoneal cavity by the local resident macrophages. Electron microscopy showed a striking morphological feature--a 35 nm thick homogenous electron-dense deposit--on all the bacteria found in association with the macrophages but absent from all non-cell-associated bacteria. A similar precipitate was formed by incubating the bacteria in fresh mouse serum and was dependent on heat-labile serum components and bound anti-C3. The least virulent O-6,7 bacteria acquired this deposit more rapidly and in a lower concentration of serum than the more virulent O-4,12 bacteria consistent with the previously demonstrated difference between these bacteria in their rate of complement activation via the alternative pathway. Preincubation of the O-4,12 bacteria in fresh mouse serum leading to complement deposition on 80% of the bacteria effectively opsonized them for rapid killing in the peritoneal cavity. These data for the first time demonstrate how the rate of complement activation determines the virulence of Salmonellae.

Animals↗

Activation of the alternative complement pathway by Trichomonas vaginalis.

The mechanism underlying the lysis of Trichomonas vaginalis by normal human or guinea pig serum was investigated. The involvement of the complement system was demonstrated by the failure of human serum deficient in C3 or C8 to mediate parasite killing and by the ablation of lytic activity observed when fresh sera were heated at 56 degrees C or treated with ethylenediaminetetraacetate. Fixation of human C3 on the parasite surface was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. The involvement of the alternative complement pathway was demonstrated (i) by the inability of properdin-depleted human serum to lyse T. vaginalis and (ii) by the normal killing observed with guinea pig serum lacking C4 and with normal human or guinea pig serum treated with ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N-tetraacetic acid and Mg2+ to selectively inhibit the classical pathway.

Animals↗

Human mannose-binding protein activates the alternative complement pathway and enhances serum bactericidal activity on a mannose-rich isolate of Salmonella.

The human mannose-binding protein (MBP) is a multimeric serum protein that is divided into three domains, a cysteine-rich NH2-terminal domain that stabilizes the collagen alpha helix of the second domain and a third COOH-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain. Previous studies have shown that both native and recombinant human MBP bind to wild-type virulent Salmonella montevideo that expresses a mannose-rich lipopolysaccharide. Interaction with MBP results in opsonization and killing by phagocytes. In this report we show that low concentration of MBP (less than 10 micrograms/ml) markedly enhance complement deposition via the alternative complement pathway on S. montevideo. Despite structural similarities between MBP and the C1q subcomponent of the first complement component, MBP did not restore classical pathway activity to C1q-deficient serum, nor did it activate C1s when added to a mixture of C1r and C1s. In the presence of MBP the C3 bound to S. montevideo during incubation in serum was in the form of C3b and iC3b at a ratio of 1:2. Presensitization of S. montevideo with MBP rendered this normally serum resistant organism susceptible to complement-mediated killing. These results emphasize that MBP and complement cooperate in first line defense of the nonimmune host.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Complement alternative pathway activation and control on membranes of human lymphoid B cell lines.

Membrane regulatory molecules normally prevent complement activation by autologous cells, therefore we compared the membrane control system of human lymphoid cell lines which activate or not human complement through the alternative pathway (AP). Membrane expression of decay-accelerating factor (DAF), membrane cofactor protein (MCP), complement receptors (CR)1, CR2 and H was measured either by radioimmunoassay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on cell lysates. Soluble extracts of isolated membranes were tested functionally for their ability to accelerate the decay of C3bBb C3-convertase and allow the cleavage of C3b by factor I. Both regulatory functions were detected in solubilized membranes of Ramos cells, which do not activate the AP, as well as on the potent AP activator, Raji. Raji cells were found to express CR2, DAF and MCP molecules, while MCP was the only known regulatory protein detected on Ramos cells which expressed neither CR1, nor CR2, H or DAF. The I-cofactor activity of both Raji and Ramos cells was immunoprecipitated by anti-MCP, but the decay-accelerating activity was not adsorbed by anti-DAF nor by any of the available antibodies. Two EBV genome-negative cell lines (BJAB, BL41) were tested before and after in vitro conversion by EBV. As previously shown, EBV-converted cell lines activate the AP more efficiently than EBV- cell lines. At the same time, EBV superinfection induces an increase of both AP regulatory functions of cell membranes and enhances the expression of DAF, MCP and CR2. The results of this study show that complement activation by lymphoid cell lines is not related to an impaired autologous control of these cells, but that the expression of regulatory molecules increases together with the appearance of activating structures on the cell surface. Our results also suggest the occurrence of a new factor involved in the decay-accelerating activity on BL lines.

Antigens, CD↗

Modulation of renal disease in MRL/lpr mice genetically deficient in the alternative complement pathway factor B.

In systemic lupus erythematosus, the renal deposition of complement-containing immune complexes initiates an inflammatory cascade resulting in glomerulonephritis. Activation of the classical complement pathway with deposition of C3 is pathogenic in lupus nephritis. Although the alternative complement pathway is activated in lupus nephritis, its role in disease pathogenesis is unknown. To determine the role of the alternative pathway in lupus nephritis, complement factor B-deficient mice were backcrossed to MRL/lpr mice. MRL/lpr mice develop a spontaneous lupus-like disease characterized by immune complex glomerulonephritis. We derived complement factor B wild-type (B+/+), homozygous knockout (B-/-), and heterozygous (B+/-) MRL/lpr mice. Compared with B+/- or B+/+ mice, MRL/lpr B-/- mice developed significantly less proteinuria, less glomerular IgG deposition, and decreased renal scores as well as lower IgG3 cryoglobulin production and vasculitis. Serum C3 levels were normal in the B-/- mice compared with significantly decreased levels in the other two groups. These results suggest that: 1) factor B plays an important role in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis and vasculitis in MRL/lpr mice; and 2) activation of the alternative pathway, either by the amplification loop or by IgA immune complexes, has a prominent effect on serum C3 levels in this lupus model.

Animals↗

Antibody-dependent cytotoxicity against Trypanosoma rhodesiense mediated through an alternative complement pathway.

A quantitative in vitro method was used to examine the role of classical and alternative pathways of complement activation in cytotoxicity against African trypanosomes by immune serum. This assay is based on the estimation of the extent of antibody-mediated cytotoxicity by measurement of inhibition of incorporation of [(3)H]leucine as an indicator of trypanosome metabolic integrity. To determine which pathway(s) is activated during cytotoxic events, complements sufficient in all components (C4S) and deficient in C4 (C4D) were used. Immune inhibition of [(3)H]leucine uptake by trypanosomes was observed in the presence of both complement sources. Treatment of C4S or C4D serum with cobra venom factor or disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid abolished antibody-mediated cytotoxicity as well as immune hemolysis, thus suggesting the requirement for late-acting complement components. Ethyleneglycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N-tetraacetic acid had no effect on inhibition of leucine incorporation, whereas immune hemolysis was inhibited, suggesting that cytotoxicity did not require C1 activation, a Ca(2+)-dependent event. The dependence of the cytotoxic process on Mg(2+) and not Ca(2+) ions and the fact that C4D guinea pig serum is fully active in trypanosome cytotoxicity indicate that an alternative pathway of complement activation is sufficient for activity.

Animals↗

Participation of immunoglobulin and the alternative complement pathway in opsonization of Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.

Studies were conducted to determine the requirements for immunoglobulin and complement for opsonization of Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. The ability of human sera depleted of immunoglobulin or complement components to promote phagocytosis and intracellular killing of the strains of Bacteroides by human leukocytes was measured in vitro under anaerobic conditions. Neither hypogammaglobulinemic sera nor pooled normal human serum (PNHS) heated at 56 C for 30 min supported phagocytosis and killing of the strains of Bacteroides. Sera depleted of terminal complement components by treatment with inulin or cobra venom factor and C8-deficient human serum did not support phagocytosis of the test strains. PNHS depleted of C3, factor B, or factor D also did not support phagocytosis of either strain. Dose-dependent restoration of the opsonic activity of factor B-depleted serum was accomplished by purified human factor B but not by human C2. The results indicated that immunoglobulin and components of the alternative complement pathway participate in opsonization of the strains of Bacteroides tested in this study.

Agammaglobulinemia↗

Activation of homologous complement via the alternative complement pathway by quail cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus.

After incubation of the cells with fresh quail serum, deposition of the third component of complement (C3) was demonstrated on the cell surface of various quail cell lines transformed by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) as well as on that of primary quail embryo (QE) cells transformed by RSV. The C3 deposition occurred irrespective of virus production. On the other hand, the C-3 deposition was not observed on two quail cell lines transformed by a chemical carcinogen, QE cells infected with avian leukosis virus or normal QE cells. Moreover, QE cells infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of RSV activated the complement at 37 degrees C but not at 41 degrees C. Since the progeny virus was generated even at 41 degrees C, viral molecules on the cell surface may not play an essential role for the activation. The activation of complement was blocked by EDTA but not by EGTA-Mg++. Therefore, the complement activation on the transformed cells appears to be mediated via the alternative complement pathway (ACP). Similar results were obtained with the complement consumption test; the residual cytolytic activity of fresh quail serum via ACP was markedly reduced by pre-incubation of the serum with transformed cells.

Animals↗

The importance of C5 and the role of the alternative complement pathway in leukocyte chemotaxis induced in vivo and in vitro by Bacteroides fragilis lipopolysaccharide.

Chambers implanted subcutaneously in C5 normal (C5 N) and C5 deficient (C5 D) mice were used to examine the migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) into the wound chamber fluid in response to injected Bacteroides fragilis lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The difference in PMN migration was highly significant between the two mouse strains, the C5 D mice showing no initial, but a low, delayed migration. The results from the study indicated that chemotaxis plays a major role in the accumulation of PMNs in the acute inflammatory response. Intraperitoneal endotoxin stimulation also showed a significantly lower total number of leukocytes in the exudate from C5 D mice as well as a delayed migration of cells compared to C5 N mice. No leukotactic mediators were elaborated in C5 D serum or exudate upon incubation with LPS when tested in a modified Boyden chamber. However, endotoxin-induced wound chamber fluid in C5 D mice showed an increasing leukotactic activity at the same time as the acute inflammatory response subsided in C5 N mice. Incubation of B. fragilis LPS in C4 deficient (C4 D) guinea pig serum indicated that the LPS was able to activate complement components to generated split products chemotacic for rabbit PMNs via the alternative complement pathway.

Animals↗

Study of the optimal reaction conditions for assay of the mouse alternative complement pathway.

The optimal reaction conditions for hemolytic assay of alternative complement pathway activity in mouse serum were investigated. A microtiter system was used, in which a number of 7.5 X 10(6) rabbit erythrocytes per test well appeared to be optimal. Rabbit erythrocytes were superior as target cells over erythrocytes from a number of other animal species. The optimal conditions were as follows: an incubation temperature of 39 degrees C, an ionic strength of about 200 mM, and a magnesium concentration of 2.5 mM. Incubation during 60 min was not sufficient for an end-point titration. Addition of 1 mg of zymosan A per test well, however, enhanced and accelerated the hemolytic activity of mouse serum via the alternative pathway resulting in a maximum value after 45 min. This, most probably, proceeded by a mechanism involving the formation of a zymosan-C5-convertase and bystander lysis of the target cells. In contrast to the normal alternative pathway assay the zymosan-potentiated test did, most probably, not involve natural antibodies. Cobra venom factor was more efficient in enhancing the sensitivity of the assay for the mouse alternative complement pathway than zymosan. This makes this factor very useful for testing C-poor body fluids.

Animals↗

Antibody restores human alternative complement pathway activation by mouse erythrocytes rendered functionally deficient by pretreatment with pronase.

Activation of the human alternative pathway of complement (C) by surfaces requires the initial deposition of C3b by fluid-phase C3 convertase and sustained C3 cleavage by C3 convertases fixed to the surface. Nonactivating particles have previously been characterized by an inability to sustain the function of C3 convertases on their surfaces because these sites were susceptible to the regulatory action of the control proteins. Pronase converts the mouse erythrocyte (E) from an activator to a nonactivator by markedly decreasing the ability of the cell to affix C3b generated by a fluid-phase C3 convertase; this conversion is unrelated to the action of the control proteins on bound C3b. The capacity of antibody and its F(ab')2 or Fab' fragments to restore the alternative pathway-activating function of pronase-treated mouse E indicates that the contribution of antibody is mediated by its combining site without a requirement for bridging or for the Fc portion. The fab'-dependent activation of the alternative pathway of C relates to the deposition of C3b on the particle surface, which is a first and continuing step in alternative pathway activation. The antibody effect is not directed to the action of the regulatory proteins. Thus, particle-dependent activation of the alternative C pathway has been shown for the first time to be abolished and restored by cell surface-directed mechanisms that function independently of the regulatory proteins.

Animals↗

Isolation and characterization of rabbit H of the alternative complement pathway.

Rabbit factor H, a control protein of the alternative complement pathway, was isolated from rabbit serum by polyethylene glycol precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, and gel chromatography on Sephadex G200. The protein migrated as a single-chain polypeptide with a molecular weight of 160,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis with Laemmli's buffer system, but hardly migrated into the gel with Fairbanks' buffer system. Physical and chemical properties of rabbit H were similar to those of human H, except that fragments produced by limited tryptic digestion from rabbit H had different molecular sizes from those produced from human H. Significant species-specificity was observed in the functional activity of factor H; activation of the alternative complement pathway was inhibited more efficiently with homologous H than with heterologous H. In contrast, factor H inhibited the hemolysis of homologous erythrocytes less than that of heterologous erythrocytes.

Amino Acids↗

Potentiation of factor H by heparin: a rate-limiting mechanism for inhibition of the alternative complement pathway.

The mechanism by which heparin inhibits the alternative complement pathway (ACP) by a fluid-phase activator, CoVF, has been studied. Results presented here indicate that heparin's major (rate-limiting) effect on the fluid-phase activation of the ACP was to potentiate Factor H activity. Such an effect results in a very efficient inhibition of C3b and C3bBb function and restriction of subsequent complement activation and hemolytic activity. Evidence was obtained to indicate that soluble heparin H shifted anodally. Assuming that the rate-limiting inhibitory effect of heparin is to potentiate Factor H, then C3-converting complexes such as CoVF-Bb, which do not require C3b for activity, should not be effected by heparin. Indeed, the inhibitory effect of heparin on C3 conversion in EGTA-Mg2+ serum-CoVF mixtures was lost with a prolonged incubation time (i.e. 60-90 min at 37 C). This finding indicated that with time ACP-mediated cleavage of C3 was able to bypass the heparin-mediated inhibitory step. From these studies it is suggested that heparin restricts the C3-converting activity due to soluble C3bBb complexes but not the C3 conversion due to CoVF-Bb complexes. Heparin-mediated restriction of the ACP activation by CoVF was used to calculate the relative percentages of C3 conversion due to C3bBb or CoVF-Bb complexes. In carefully controlled experiments, heparin could not prevent the spontaneous conversion of C3 which occurs upon removing functional Factor H from the sera. Addition of isolated Factor H restored heparin's inhibitory effect on the ACP. Kinetic studies of heparin's inhibition of ACP-mediated lysis of rabbit erythrocytes indicated that heparin's inhibitor functions did not occur until after the addition of an ACP activator. Each of these findings is consistent with the postulate that the major (rate-limiting) effect of heparin on the ACP is to potentiate the function of Factor H on activated C3b.

Complement Activation↗

The classical and alternate pathways of complement in oral contraceptive users.

Whole complement (CH50), C3, C4, the alternate pathway activity of complement (APH50) and factor B were measured in 159 women currently taking oral contraceptives and in 186 women who were not taking the pill. The mean levels of all components of the complement, except APH50, were found to be elevated in current users compared to non-users. The elevation in serum levels was seen in the first year after initiation of oral contraceptive use. Thereafter, levels changed little with duration of use. Among women who stopped using oral contraceptives, complement levels were similar to those of women who had never used the pill. Results appeared to be similar irrespective of the type of progestagen included in the oral contraceptive. These data provide support for the view that oral contraceptives have no adverse effect on the classical and the alternate pathways of complement.

Adolescent↗