BACKGROUND Contact of blood with the artificial surfaces of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) system is considered to be a main cause of complement activation. Improving the biocompatibility of the system by reduction of contact activation of blood elements and thereby producing less inflammatory response is evidently desired, especially for neonates and infants who are more susceptible to the d...

Complement alternative pathway plays an important, but not clearly understood, role in neutrophil-mediated diseases. We here show that neutrophils themselves activate complement when stimulated by cytokines or coagulation-derived factors. In whole blood, tumor necrosis factor/ formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine or phorbol myristate acetate resulted in C3 fragments binding on neutrophils and ...

Notwithstanding the well known association of diabetes and infection we have little definite knowledge of the mechanism by which these two conditions affect each other. Since the days of Claude Bernard, clinicians have viewed with alarm either the appearance of infection during the course of diabetes, or, perhaps with less apprehension, the occurrence of diabetes during or following an infectio...

The complement cascade includes heat-labile proteins and care is required when handling serum in order to preserve its functional integrity. We have previously used a whole human serum bactericidal assay to show that antibody and an intact complement system are required in blood for killing of invasive isolates of Salmonella. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the conditions under whi...

BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that inhibiting formation of terminal complement components (C5a and C5b-9) prevents platelet and neutrophil (PMN) but not monocyte activation during simulated extracorporeal circulation (SECC). This study examined whether earlier complement inhibition during SECC, blocking C3a formation, would additionally prevent monocyte activation. METHODS AND RESULTS...

Complement activation is closely associated with plasma endotoxin levels in patients with meningococcal infections. This study assessed complement activation induced by purified Neisseria meningitidis lipopolysaccharide (Nm-LPS), native outer membrane vesicles (nOMVs), LPS-depleted outer membrane vesicles (dOMVs), wild-type meningococci, and an LPS-free mutant (lpxA(-)) from the same strain (44...

Hemolytic transfusion reactions represent one of the most common causes of transfusion-related mortality. Although many factors influence hemolytic transfusion reactions, complement activation represents one of the most common features associated with fatality. In this paper we will focus on the role of complement in initiating and regulating hemolytic transfusion reactions and will discuss pot...

The variable surface antigens (Vsa) of the murine respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma pulmonis are associated with the virulence of the microorganism in the lung. In strain UAB CT, the antigens consist of an N-terminal region that is combined with one of seven different C-terminal variable regions comprised of tandem repeats. M. pulmonis producing a VsaA protein with about 40 tandem repeats (R40) d...

Exposing blood to an artificial surface results in a systemic inflammatory response, including cytokine release and complement activation. We studied the artificial surface-induced inflammation in human whole blood using an extensive panel of inflammatory mediators including proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth-factors and investigated the role of the complement system in the induct...

BACKGROUND Scabies is highly prevalent in socially disadvantaged communities such as indigenous populations and in developing countries. Generalized itching causes discomfort to the patient; however, serious complications can occur as a result of secondary bacterial pyoderma, commonly caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS) or Staphylococcus aureus. In the tropics, skin damage due to scabies mit...