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

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

Contributor(s):
Ecker, Enrique E.
Western Reserve University. Institute of Pathology
Heidelberger, Michael
Publication:
Produced: 5 April 1941
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Complement System Proteins
Genre(s):
Archival Materials
Letters (correspondence)
Abstract:
In this letter, Heidelberger surveyed 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:
This item may be under copyright protection; contact the copyright owner for permission before re-use.
Extent:
1 pages
NLM Unique ID:
101584940X88 (See in Profiles in Science)
Profiles in Science ID:
DHBBGG
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X88
Archival Collection:
The Michael Heidelberger Papers (Profiles in Science)