General Medicine

» nikfedermann - proteins and disease

This article was very interesting - how it illustrated functions of proteins in disease. ...interesting how specific complements correspond with specific sets of diseases. I want to learn more.

-- posted by nikfedermann

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» Elaine Moore - proteins and disease

In response to proteins and disease posted by nikfedermann:
Hi,
Complement deficiencies are interesting, especially when you consider the way the cascade works. Here's an abstract from PubMed you might find interesting:

1: Mol Immunol. 2006 Jan;43(1-2):78-85. Links
Complement deficiency and disease: an update.

Sjöholm AG, Jönsson G, Braconier JH, Sturfelt G, Truedsson L.
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 23, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. anders.sjoholm@med.lu.se
Complement deficiencies are probably vastly under-diagnosed within clinical medicine. Judging from a Swedish study of C2 deficiency, a deficiency with an estimated prevalence of about 1/20,000 in Western countries, less than 10% of the deficiencies of the classical and alternative pathways and the late complement components are identified in Sweden. C1 inhibitor deficiency and deficiencies of MBL and MASP-2 were not included in the assessment. The introduction of new screening methods should facilitate detection of complement deficiencies in clinical practice. In our study of C2 deficiency (n=40), 57% of the patients had a history of invasive infection with encapsulated bacteria, mainly Streptococcus pneumoniae. This emphasizes the importance of the classical and/or the lectin pathway in defence against severe infection. Rheumatological disease, mainly systemic lupus erythematosus was present in 43% of the patients. In addition, a significant association was found between C2 deficiency and atherosclerosis. Complement-dependent disease mechanisms are discussed together with the potential importance of non-complement genes for disease expression in complement deficiencies. Analysis of larger patient groups is required in order to establish guidelines for investigation and treatment of patients with complement deficiency.
PMID: 16026838 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

This illustrates how people with malabsorption, even from mild gluten sensitivity which is so common in people with other autoimmune diseases, can lead to protein loss and secondary complement deficiencies.

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