Lab notes on complement fixation experiments

Lab notes on complement fixation experiments

Contributor(s):
Heidelberger, Michael
Publication:
Produced: [October-November 1940]
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Complement System Proteins
Genre(s):
Archival Materials
Laboratory notes
Abstract:
These notes document Heidelberger's experiments on complement fixation during a critical period of research through which Heidelberger showed that complement, until then a poorly understood component of antibodies, consisted of a group of specific chemical substances, most likely protein. At the time, the term referred to the heat-sensitive factors in serum that trigger cytolysis, the dissolution of antibody-coated cells. Today, complement is understood as a functionally related system of at least twenty different serum proteins that play a key enzymatic role not just in cytolysis, but in other immune responses, including phagocytosis, the engulfing of foreign matter by immune cells, and anaphylaxis, a form of hypersensitivity reaction to a specific antigen with often life-threatening consequences. Heidelberger described the methods and results of these experiments in two articles on complement published in 1941.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
9 pages
NLM Unique ID:
101584940X176 (See in Profiles in Science)
Profiles in Science ID:
DHBBLR
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X176
Archival Collection:
The Michael Heidelberger Papers (Profiles in Science)