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. 1967 Jan 31;125(2):337–358. doi: 10.1084/jem.125.2.337

THE CONVERSION OF C'1S TO C'1 ESTERASE BY PLASMIN AND TRYPSIN

Oscar D Ratnoff 1, George B Naff 1
PMCID: PMC2138350  PMID: 4225264

Abstract

The formation of C'1 esterase from C'1, the first component of complement, may be brought about by the action of plasmin or trypsin upon C'1s, a subcomponent of C'1. These enzymes also decrease the esterolytic activity of C'1 esterase. The formation of C'1 esterase was demonstrated by measuring the appearance of an agent or agents with esterolytic properties and the capacity to inactivate C'2 and C'4, attributes of C'1 esterase. The activity of the agent which evolved was blocked by serum inhibitor of C'1 esterase. The implications of these observations, that the formation of C'1 esterase during complement fixation is mediated by proteolytic processes, are under study. The possible inhibition of C'1q by soybean trypsin inhibitor is in agreement with this hypothesis.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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