Functional properties of complement factor H-related proteins FHR-3 and FHR-4: binding to the C3d region of C3b and differential regulation by heparin.
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The human factor H-related proteins FHR-3 and FHR4 are members of a family of proteins related to the complement factor H. Here, we report that the two proteins bind to the C3d region of complement C3b. The apparent K(A) values for the interactions of FHR-3 and FHR-4 with C3b are 7.5 x 10(6) M(-1) and 2.9 x 10(6) M(-1), respectively. Binding studies performed with C3b-coated pneumococci confirmed the results obtained with the biosensor system. A C-terminal construct of factor H showed similar binding characteristics. The interaction of FHR-3, but not of FHR4, with opsonised pneumococci was inhibited by heparin. (+info)
Complement activation products in the urine from proteinuric patients.
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The presence of plasma proteins in the tubular lumen has variety of adverse effects on the tubular cells. Among various plasma proteins filtered through glomerular barrier, complement has been proven as the possible candidate inducing tubulointerstitial injury. To study the role of intratubular complement activation in proteinuric patients, complement activation products (CAP) at C3 level (iC3b and Bb) and C9 level (membrane attack complex) were measured in both plasma and urine of patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS), focal glomerular sclerosis, IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, and diabetic nephropathy. For evaluation of the effect of metabolic acidosis on the intratubular complement activation, urinary CAP were measured before and after sodium bicarbonate administration in patients with renal insufficiency. The following results were obtained: (1) Patients with focal glomerular sclerosis and diabetic nephropathy showed the highest level of urinary CAP excretion rate (unit/creatinine), while MCNS revealed no increase. (2) Patients with membranous nephropathy showed a unique finding, i.e., isolated increase of membrane attack complex excretion. (3) There was no significant correlation between urine and plasma levels of CAP. (4) Except for MCNS patients, the urinary excretion rate of CAP significantly increased when the level of proteinuria exceeded the nephrotic range, and it was significantly correlated with the serum creatinine level. (5) Urinary CAP excretion rate significantly decreased 2 wk after sodium bicarbonate administration without affecting the level of proteinuria or plasma CAP. These results suggest that the degree of intratubular complement activation correlates with the level of proteinuria, type of glomerular disease, impairment of renal function, and metabolic acidosis. (+info)
Mechanistic studies of the effects of anti-factor H antibodies on complement-mediated lysis.
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We have recently reported that complement factor H, a negative regulator of complement-mediated cytotoxicity, is produced and secreted by most bladder cancers. This observation was exploited in the development of the BTA stat and BTA TRAK diagnostic assays, both of which make use of two factor H-specific monoclonal antibodies in sandwich format. Here we show that both antibodies exert interesting effects on the biochemistry of complement activation in in vitro systems. Antibody X13.2 competes with C3b for association with factor H and strongly inhibits factor H/factor I-mediated cleavage of C3b, thereby evidently inactivating a negative regulator of complement; yet, the antibody strongly inhibits complement-mediated lysis as well. Conversely, antibody X52. 1, which does not compete with C3b and has no effect on solution-phase cleavage of C3b, is capable of enhancing complement-mediated lysis of various cell types, including cancer cells, by over 10-fold. Our observations indicate that it is possible to deconvolute the biochemical roles of factor H in complement by means of appropriate inhibitors, a finding with potentially valuable implications for both basic research and cancer therapy. (+info)
Molecular mechanisms of target recognition in an innate immune system: interactions among factor H, C3b, and target in the alternative pathway of human complement.
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In the alternative pathway of complement (APC) factor H is the primary control factor involved in discrimination between potential pathogens. The APC deposits C3b on possible Ags, and the interaction with factor H determines whether the initial C3b activates the APC. Factor H is composed of a linear array of 20 homologous short consensus repeats (SCR) domains with many functional sites. Three of these sites are involved in binding C3b and regulating complement activation; others bind to sialic acid and/or heparin and are responsible for host recognition. Using site-directed mutations we have examined the contributions of each of these sites to target discrimination and to functional activities of factor H. Decay acceleration by SCR1-4 of C3/C5 convertases bound to nonactivators was strongly dependent on SCR domains 11-15 and 16-20. Loss of these regions caused a 97% loss of activity, with SCR16-20 being the most critical (>90% loss). On APC activators the pattern of site usage was different and unique on each. On yeast, deletion of the 10 C-terminal domains (SCR11-20) had no effect on specific activity. On rabbit erythrocytes, this deletion caused loss of 75% of the specific activity. An examination of binding affinity to C3b on the four cell types demonstrated that factor H exhibits a unique pattern of SCR involvement on each cell. The results reveal a complex molecular mechanism of discrimination between microbes and host in this ancient innate defense system and help explain the different rates and intensities of APC activation on different biological particles. (+info)
Replenishment of RANTES mRNA expression in activated eosinophils from atopic asthmatics.
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Eosinophils have been shown to express the gene encoding regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), a potent eosinophilotactic chemokine. RANTES protein expression in eosinophils has previously been shown to be up-regulated by a number of agonists, including complement-dependent factors (C3b/iC3b) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). We hypothesized that gene expression of RANTES is regulated in these cells by eosinophil-specific agonists. We analysed RANTES mRNA expression by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in human peripheral blood eosinophils obtained from mild atopic asthmatics following stimulation over time. In resting eosinophils, a low level of RANTES mRNA was found to be constitutively expressed in all the atopic donors tested in this study (n = 6). Following stimulation with C3b/iC3b (serum-coated surfaces), eosinophils released measurable levels of RANTES, while sustained transcript expression was detected for up to 24 hr of stimulation. In contrast, IFN-gamma (5 ng/ml) transiently and significantly (P<0.05, n = 3) depleted relative amounts of RANTES PCR product (compared with beta2-microglobulin) after 1-4 hr of stimulation. RANTES transcript was again detectable after 24 hr of IFN-gamma incubation, suggesting that the pool of RANTES mRNA had been replenished. Other eosinophil-active cytokines, interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-4, IL-5 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, did not appear to modulate RANTES mRNA expression after 1 hr of incubation. The effect of IFN-gamma on RANTES mRNA was reversed by cycloheximide, suggesting that IFN-gamma may act by increasing the rate of translation of RANTES mRNA. These findings indicate that IFN-gamma may induce a rapid and transient effect on the translation and replenishment of RANTES mRNA in eosinophils. This novel observation supports the notion that eosinophils have the potential to replenish their stored and released bioactive proteins. (+info)
Complement activation after oxidative stress: role of the lectin complement pathway.
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The complement system plays an important role in mediating tissue injury after oxidative stress. The role of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and the lectin complement pathway (LCP) in mediating complement activation after endothelial oxidative stress was investigated. iC3b deposition on hypoxic (24 hours; 1% O(2))/reoxygenated (3 hours; 21% O(2)) human endothelial cells was attenuated by N-acetyl-D-glucosamine or D-mannose, but not L-mannose, in a dose-dependent manner. Endothelial iC3b deposition after oxidative stress was also attenuated in MBL-deficient serum. Novel, functionally inhibitory, anti-human MBL monoclonal antibodies attenuated MBL-dependent C3 deposition on mannan-coated plates in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment of human serum with anti-MBL monoclonal antibodies inhibited MBL and C3 deposition after endothelial oxidative stress. Consistent with our in vitro findings, C3 and MBL immunostaining throughout the ischemic area at risk increased during rat myocardial reperfusion in vivo. These data suggest that the LCP mediates complement activation after tissue oxidative stress. Inhibition of MBL may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for ischemia/reperfusion injury and other complement-mediated disease states. (+info)
Each of the three binding sites on complement factor H interacts with a distinct site on C3b.
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Factor H (fH) restricts activation of the alternative pathway of complement at the level of C3, both in the fluid phase and on self-structures, but allows the activation to proceed on foreign structures. To study the interactions between fH and C3b we used surface plasmon resonance analysis (Biacore(R)) and eight recombinantly expressed fH constructs containing fragments of the 20 short consensus repeat domains (SCRs) of fH. We analyzed the binding of these constructs to C3b and its cleavage products C3c and C3d. Three binding sites for C3b were found on fH. Site 1 was localized to the five amino-terminal SCRs (SCR1-5), and its reciprocal binding site on C3b was found to be lost upon the cleavage of C3b to C3c and C3d. Site 2 on fH was localized by exclusion probably within or near SCRs 12-14 (fragment SCR8-20 bound to C3b, C3c, and C3d; SCR8-11 did not bind to C3b at all; and SCR15-20 bound only to the C3d part of C3b). Site 3 on fH for C3b was localized to the carboxyl-terminal SCRs 19-20, and its reciprocal binding site was mapped to the C3d part of C3b. In conclusion, we confirmed and mapped three binding sites on fH for C3b and demonstrated that the three binding sites on fH interact with distinct sites on C3b. Multiple reciprocal interactions between C3b and fH can provide a basis for the different reactivity of the alternative pathway with different target structures. (+info)
Interaction of C3b(2)--IgG complexes with complement proteins properdin, factor B and factor H: implications for amplification.
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Nascent C3b can form ester bonds with various target molecules on the cell surface and in the fluid phase. Previously, we showed that C3b(2)--IgG complexes represent the major covalent product of C3 activation in serum [Lutz, Stammler, Jelezarova, Nater and Spath (1996) Blood 88, 184--193]. In the present report, binding of alternative pathway proteins to purified C3b(2)--IgG complexes was studied in the fluid phase by using biotinylated IgG for C3b(2)--IgG generation and avidin-coated plates to capture complexes. Up to seven moles of properdin 'monomer' bound per mole of C3b(2)--IgG at physiological conditions in the absence of any other complement protein. At low properdin/C3b(2)--IgG ratios bivalent binding was preferred. Neither factor H nor factor B affected properdin binding. On the other hand, properdin strongly stimulated factor B binding. Interactions of all three proteins with C3b(2)--IgG exhibited pH optima. An ionic strength optimum was most pronounced for properdin, while factor B binding was largely independent of the salt concentration. C3b(2)--IgG complexes were powerful precursors of the alternative pathway C3 convertase. In the presence of properdin, C3 convertase generated from C3b(2)--IgG cleaved about sevenfold more C3 than the enzyme generated on C3b. C3b(2)--IgG complexes could therefore maintain the amplification loop of complement longer than free C3b. (+info)