Importance of Complement System

Abstract

Complement is a collective term used to designate a group of plasma and cell membrane proteins that play a key role in the host defense process. Currently, this complex system, which now numbers more that 25 proteins, acts in at least four mayor ways. The first and best known function of this system is to cause lysis of cells, bacteria, and enveloped viruses. The second is to mediate the process of opsonization, in which foreign cells, bacteria, viruses, fungi and so forth, are prepared for phagocytosis. The third function of the complement proteins is the generation of peptide fragments that regulate features of the inflammatory and immune responses, and the fourth function is to help regulate the biology activity of cells. In this bibliographic review, we highlight the roles of complement system in immunological process.