Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2019 Apr 3;10:672. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00672

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

Copyright © 2019 Thurman and Yapa.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

PMC Copyright notice

Pro- and anti-inflammatory effects of complement activation in tissues. Complement proteins can directly bind to injured and apoptotic cells. The complement system can also be activated by natural antibodies bound to injured cells. Autoantibodies that are bound to self-antigens can activate complement directly on the cell surface or on immune complexes deposited near the cells. C5b-9 formed on the cell surface can lead to cell activation or lysis. C3a and C5a generated within tissues can promote tissue inflammation by activating nearby cells (which may then secrete cytokines and chemokines) or by causing infiltration of the tissue by circulating leukocytes.