Classical Compliment Pathway Analysis

Introduction

There exist three pathways of compliment flagging that function by ways of a proteolytic cascade known as the Alternative pathway, Lectin pathways and the Classical pathway (Patham, 2015). The Classical pathway, activated by its interaction with specific antibodies, is often seen as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, as the humoral immunity involving antibodies is considered a type of adaptive immunity. However, the pathway is affiliated with innate immunity because it cannot adapt to defend against specific pathogen, only providing one type of defense for all foreign threats (Patham, 2015). The Classical Compliment Pathway contributes to the immune response by aiding antibodies and phagocytic cells in their defense against pathogens that have entered the body. This immune response is initiated by the presence of antibodies bound to the membrane of an

As a result the recognition of antibodies activates the C1 complex, the first element of the Classical Compliment Pathway. Compliment proteins C6, C7, C8 and C9 are activated through protein cleavage of C5 into C5a and C5b. The final result of the pathway creates an end product known as the membrane-attack complex, a compilation of proteins that create a pore in the membrane of the infected cell, causing cell lysis (Patham, 2015). The goal of this lab is to observe the effect of increasing quantities of human complement on the lysis of sheep erythrocytes sensitized by antibodies. Based on previous knowledge of the nature of this pathway we predict with increased amounts of complement exposed to the blood sample, a greater amount of erythrocytes will lyse. This can be determined by the amount of red pigment released during cell lysis and consequently the amount of light absorbed by