Complement Deficiency Syndromes and Bacterial Infections

Publisher Summary The complement system plays a major role in the elimination of bacteria from the body. This chapter describes the constituent proteins that make up the complement system and discusses their patterns of activation. A review of the mechanisms of activation of the complement system, and the biological activities generated as a result of complement activation, is presented. Two patients with recurrent meningococcal meningitis are described. One patient had no C7 in her serum, the other lacked C5. Family studies on the C5-deficient patient showed that the disease was inherited as an autosomal recessive condition. The relationship between complement deficiency syndromes and bacterial infections is discussed.