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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Neurovirol. 2014 Mar 18;20(2):184–198. doi: 10.1007/s13365-014-0243-9

Figure 1. Complement activation and regulation.

Figure 1

The complement system is activated through three different activation pathways: classical, alternative and MBL cascades. The three complement activation pathways converge at the C3 level. Formation of C3 or C5 convertases as well as the membrane attack complement (MAC), a final activation complex (as highlighted in red text) are regulated by a number of complement regulators (highlighted within black squares). Ab, Antibody; Ag, Antigen; C1-INH, C1-inhibitor; MBL, Mannose-binding lectin; MASP, MBL-associated serine proteases; DAF, decay-accelerating factor; MCP, membrane co-factor protein; CR, complement receptor; C4BP, C4b-binding protein; and MAC, membrane attack complex.