Antigenic changes of complement components: relevance for the analysis of complement activation

Abstract

The present paper briefly reviews some general principles in the field of activation-dependent epitopes in the complement cascade. The advantage of monoclonal antibodies in the study of these epitopes is pointed out and available antibodies are listed. Application of such antibodies in reliable and valid assays to detect activation at all levels of the cascade is addressed. The importance of these assay in the study of various pathophysiological and clinical conditions is briefly discussed.