Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Enrique E. Ecker, Western Reserve University

Letter from Michael Heidelberger to Enrique E. Ecker, Western Reserve University

Contributor(s):
Heidelberger, Michael
Western Reserve University. Institute of Pathology
Ecker, Enrique E.
Publication:
Produced: 3 April 1941
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Complement System Proteins
Genre(s):
Archival Materials
Letters (correspondence)
Abstract:
In this letter, Heidelberger proposed a uniform terminology for the young field of complement research, a field Heidelberger helped found during the late 1930s and early 1940s by proving that complement was made up of a group of specific chemical substances that could be isolated in the laboratory. Subsequent research has shown that complement is a complex system of over twenty serum proteins that after activation play an essential enzymatic role in host defense mechanisms against invading microorganisms, namely in the promotion of inflammation, phagocytosis (the engulfing of invading organisms by immune cells), and lysis (the breaking up of such organisms).
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 pages
NLM Unique ID:
101584940X87 (See in Profiles in Science)
Profiles in Science ID:
DHBBGF
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X87
Archival Collection:
The Michael Heidelberger Papers (Profiles in Science)