Complements are plasma proteins that circulate in the blood. Many complements, such as CI, C2, C3 and so on, make up the complement system. When not engaged in battle, they drift in an inactive state. When activated, the tough little complements line up and go for the kill.

Individually, the various complements can’t harm antigens. It takes all of them, assembled at the right time, in the right place, to act. And assemble they do, at just the proper time and place.

Imagine the complements zeroing in on bacteria. Picture the first little complement attaching itself to the bacteria. The next complement attaches to the first, then another and another. When they’re all in place, the bacteria ruptures and dies, its cell wall eaten away By enzymes secreted by the complements.

Complements can also neutralize antigens by attacking their molecular structure; by changing the surfaces of antigens and making them stick together; and by prompting inflammation that will, among other things, block off the antigens so that they can’t spread to other parts of the body. The complements can also send out a chemical call for help that brings more neutrophils and macrophages to the scene. At the same time, the complements change the surface features of the antigen in such a way as to make them more “appetizing” to the cell-eaters.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 7:38 am and is filed under General health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.