Complement in the Pathophysiology of Human Disease

ALMOST exactly 100 years ago it was noted that certain types of bacteria sensitized with specific antibody would lyse in fresh normal serum.1 That observation led to the discovery of the proteins that constitute the complement system. It is now clear that those proteins not only act to lyse target cells, but also have a broad role in the development of the inflammatory response.Complement activity results from the sequential interaction of a large number of plasma and cell-membrane interactive proteins — the complement system — whose number is now thought to approach 25. There is now a considerable body . . .