Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1981 May;32(2):553–556. doi: 10.1128/iai.32.2.553-556.1981

Level of complement activity and components C1, C4, C2, and C3 in complement response to bacterial challenge in malnourished rats.

M Sakamoto, S Ishii, K Nishioka, K Shimada
PMCID: PMC351482  PMID: 7251136

Abstract

In experimentally induced malnutrition in rats, there was no significant difference between the measured level of complement activity of the classical pathway (50% hemolytic complement [CH50]) and that of the alternative pathway (ACH50), although the levels of complement components C1, C4, C2, and C3 were depressed significantly. The complement activity showed a temporary elevation with a peak at 2 or 3 days after bacterial challenge with Staphylococcus aureus in rats, and we call this the complement response. After 3 days, CH50 and C3 in the malnourished rats and ACH50, CH50, and C3 in the well-nourished rats showed a significant increase, and C1, C4, and C2 in both groups tended to elevate. On the basis of these observations, the significance of the elevation of C3 in the complement response to bacterial infection showed a strong influence by enhancing the activation of both the classical and the alternative pathways, since C3 is known to be the junction of both complement pathways. In this way, C3 responded to an earlier stage than did the other components and may contribute to maintaining the body defense system against infection.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

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

  1. Chandra R. K. Immunocompetence in undernutrition. J Pediatr. 1972 Dec;81(6):1194–1200. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(72)80262-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cooper W. C., Good R. A., Mariani T. Effects of protein insufficiency on immune responsiveness. Am J Clin Nutr. 1974 Jun;27(6):647–664. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/27.6.647. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Douglas S. D., Schopfer K. Phagocyte function in protein-calorie malnutrition. Clin Exp Immunol. 1974 May;17(1):121–128. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Geefhuysen J., Rosen E. U., Katz J., Ipp T., Metz J. Impaired cellular immunity in kwashiorkor with improvement after therapy. Br Med J. 1971 Nov 27;4(5786):527–529. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5786.527. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Miyakawa Y., Sekine T., Shibata S., Nishioka K. Studies on rat complement: a method for titration of rat C1, C2, C3, C4, as well as C5, and the effect of rabbit nephrotoxic serum on the first five components of complement in rat serum. J Immunol. 1971 Feb;106(2):545–551. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. NISHIOKA K. Measurements of complement by agglutination of human erythrocytes reacting in immune-adherence. J Immunol. 1963 Jan;90:86–97. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nelson R. A., Jr, Jensen J., Gigli I., Tamura N. Methods for the separation, purification and measurement of nine components of hemolytic complement in guinea-pig serum. Immunochemistry. 1966 Mar;3(2):111–135. doi: 10.1016/0019-2791(66)90292-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nishioka K., Kawamura K., Hirayama T., Kawashima T., Shimada K. The complement system in tumor immunity: significance of elevated levels of complement in tumor bearing hosts. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;276:303–315. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb41656.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Philbrick D. J., Hill D. C. Development of malnutrition in rats. Am J Clin Nutr. 1974 Aug;27(8):813–818. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/27.8.813. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Platts-Mills T. A., Ishizaka K. Activation of the alternate pathway of human complements by rabbit cells. J Immunol. 1974 Jul;113(1):348–358. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ruddy S., Gigli I., Austen K. F. The complement system of man. I. N Engl J Med. 1972 Sep 7;287(10):489–495. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197209072871005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sakamoto M., Ishii S., Nishioka K., Shimada K. Complement response after experimental bacterial infection in various nutritional states. Immunology. 1979 Oct;38(2):421–427. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sakamoto M., Nishioka K., Shimada K. Effect of malnutrition and nutritional rehabilitation on tuberculin reactivity and complement level in rats. Immunology. 1979 Oct;38(2):413–420. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sakamoto M. Studies on rat complement. I. Immune adherence and immune hemolysis activities of rat serum. Jpn J Exp Med. 1975 Jun;45(3):183–189. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sirisinha S., Edelman R., Suskind R., Charupatana C., Olson R. E. Complement and C3-proactivator levels in children with protein-calorie malnutrition and effect of dietary treatment. Lancet. 1973 May 12;1(7811):1016–1020. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)90663-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES