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Complement Component C1q and Anti‐C1q Antibodies in Theory and in Clinical Practice
Author(s) -
Potlukova E.,
Kralikova P.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02089.x
Subject(s) - classical complement pathway , immunology , complement system , lupus nephritis , antibody , innate immune system , autoantibody , complement (music) , systemic lupus erythematosus , immune system , complement c1q , nephritis , humoral immunity , biology , medicine , disease , pathology , genetics , phenotype , complementation , gene
The complement system is a major part of the innate immunity. The first component of the classical pathway of complement activation, C1q, plays a crucial role in the clearance of immune complexes and apoptotic bodies from the organism. Autoantibodies against C1q (anti‐C1q) have been found in a number of autoimmune and infectious diseases. They have been best described in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, where they are thought to play a pathogenic role in lupus nephritis (LN). Their high negative predictive value for the occurrence of active proliferative LN, as well as their possible ability to indicate a renal flare as soon as 6 months in advance, have rendered anti‐C1q antibodies a novel non‐invasive tool in the detection of active LN.