Local complement activation triggers neutrophil recruitment to the site of thrombus formation in acute myocardial infarction (original) (raw)

C-Reactive Protein Activates Complement in Infarcted Human Myocardium

The American Journal of Pathology, 2003

Circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) constitute a cardiovascular risk marker. Immunohistochemical studies have revealed co-localization of CRP and activated complement in human infarcted myocardium suggesting CRP to enhance inflammation in ischemic myocardium by inducing local complement activation. The aim was to establish whether CRP activates complement in infarcted human myocardium and to assess the relationship between this activation and the duration of infarction. Myocardial tissue samples from 56 patients that had died from acute myocardial infarction were evaluated. Specimens were taken from infarcted as well as noninfarcted sites of the heart. CRP-mediated complement activation was assessed by immunohistochemistry and by measuring levels of complement, CRP, and CRP-complement complexes, specific markers for CRP-mediated activation, in homogenates of the heart. Infarctions of 12 hours to 5 days had significantly more extensive depositions of complement and CRP and contained significantly more CRP, activated complement, and CRPcomplement complexes than infarctions that were less than 12 hours old. Levels of CRP complexes correlated significantly with CRP and complement concentrations in the infarctions, as well as with the extent of complement and CRP depositions as measured via immunohistochemistry. Specific activation products of CRP-mediated activation of complement are increased in infarcts of more than 12 hours in duration and correlate with the extent of complement depositions. Hence, CRP seems to enhance local inflammatory reactions ensuing in human myocardial infarcts of more than 12 hours duration. Circulating levels of the acute phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) constitute a cardiovascular risk factor: levels in healthy persons or patients with stable or unstable angina pectoris are associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular events. 1-3 In addition, the course of CRP after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with the development of complications and with outcome. 4,5 These associations between CRP and cardiovascular events are considered to reflect that CRP, by virtue of its acute phase behavior, is an indirect parameter for the degree of inflammation ensuing in atherosclerotic lesions or in the infarcted myocardium. However, we have shown that CRP localizes in infarcted human myocardium, similarly as has been reported in a rabbit model for AMI. This raises the possibility that CRP participates in the inflammatory changes locally ensuing in the infarcted myocardium. As a matter of fact CRP is able to activate complement via the classical pathway, implying that CRP may enhance inflammation by activating complement. 8 -10 Indeed, Griselli and coworkers 11 have demonstrated in a rat model that human CRP enhances myocardial infarct size by activating complement. Immunohistochemical co-localization of CRP and activated complement in myocardial tissue of patients with AMI suggests a similar proinflammatory role for CRP in human myocardial infarction. 7 However, co-localization of CRP and activated complement does not definitely prove that CRP indeed activates complement locally in infarcted myocardium.

Regulation of complement membrane attack complex formation in myocardial infarction

The American journal of pathology, 1993

Recent studies have suggested that the complement (C) system is involved in the development of tissue injury of myocardial infarction. As it is not known why the strictly controlled C system starts to react against autologous heart tissue, we have analyzed the expression of various membrane regulators of C (CR1, DAF, MCP, CD59, C8 binding protein) and the pattern of deposition of C components and plasma C regulators (C4b binding protein and vitronectin) in normal (n = 7) and infarcted (n = 13) human myocardium. In the infarcted myocardium deposits of the C membrane attack complex (MAC) were observed by immunofluorescence microscopy, and lesions resembling the transmembrane channels of MAC were detected by transmission electron microscopy. CD59 and C8 binding protein were strongly expressed by muscle cells of normal myocardial tissue. Little or no CR1, MCP, and DAF was observed on these cells. The assembly of MAC was accompanied by the deposition of vitronectin (S-protein) and C4b bi...

Complement activation in heart diseases

Cellular Signalling, 2000

Increasing evidence demonstrated that atherosclerosis is an immunologically mediated disease. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury is accompanied by an inflammatory response contributing to reversible and irreversible changes in tissue viability and organ function. Three major components are recognized as the major contributing factors in reperfusion injury. These are:

Time course of complement activation and inhibitor expression after ischemic injury of rat myocardium

The American journal of pathology, 1994

Activation of the complement (C) system has been documented in both experimental and clinical studies of myocardial infarction, but the exact time course and mechanisms leading to C activation have remained unclear. Our earlier postmortem study on human beings showed that formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) of C was associated with loss of CD59 (protectin), an important sarcolemmal regulator of MAC, from the infarcted area. The recent discovery of a rat analogue of CD59 has now allowed the first experimental evaluation of the temporal and spatial relationship between C component deposition and loss of CD59 in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). After ligating the left coronary artery in rats the earliest sign of C activation, focal deposition of C3, was observed at 2 hours. Deposition of the early (C1, C3) and late pathway (C8, C9) components in the AMI lesions occurred at 3 hours. Glycophosphoinositol-anchored rat CD59 was expressed in the sarcolemmal membranes of normal ...

Monomeric C-reactive protein modulates classic complement activation on necrotic cells

The FASEB Journal, 2011

The acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP) recruits C1q to the surface of damaged cells and thereby initiates complement activation. However, CRP also recruits complement inhibitors, such as C4bbinding protein (C4bp) and factor H, which both block complement progression at the level of C3 and inhibits inflammation. To define how CRP modulates the classic complement pathway, we studied the interaction of CRP with the classic pathway inhibitor C4bp. Monomeric CRP (mCRP), but not pentameric CRP (pCRP), binds C4bp and enhances degradation of C4b and C3b. Both C1q, the initiator, and C4bp, the inhibitor of the classic pathway, compete for mCRP binding, and this competition adjusts the local balance of activation and inhibition. After attachment of pCRP to the surface of necrotic rat myocytes, generation of mCRP was demonstrated over a period of 18 h. Similarly, a biological role for mCRP, C1q, and C4bp in the disease setting of acute myocardial infarction was revealed. In this inflamed tissue, mCRP, pCRP, C4bp, C1q, and C4d were detected in acetone-fixed and in unfixed tissue. Protein levels were enhanced 6 h to 5 d after infarction. Thus, mCRP bound to damaged cardiomyocytes recruits C1q to activate and also C4bp to control the classic complement pathway.

Role of the complement components C5 and C3a in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury

German medical science : GMS e-journal, 2010

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The complement system plays a major role in inflammation and tissue injury following myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (MI/R) injury. Systemic C5 inhibition in clinical studies has resulted in mixed results and the role of earlier complement components (e.g., C3a), upstream from C5 cleavage, has not been elucidated for MI/R injury. Therefore, we evaluated the role of C5 or C3a in a mouse model of MI/R injury. We performed experimental MI/R with 30 min of ischemia and 4 hr of reperfusion in 8-12 wk old C57BL/6 (WT) mice. Systemic C5 or C3a inhibition was performed with an anti-C5 monoclonal antibody (BB5.1) 30 min prior to reperfusion or with a C3a receptor antagonist (C3aRA). Since the C3aRA induces neutropenia that resolves within 120 min, we administered C3aRA at two different time points in two separate groups: 30 min prior to reperfusion within the neutropenic time frame and 120 min prior to reperfusion, when the ...

The Role of Complement Activation in Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which dyslipidemia, inflammation, and the immune system play an important pathogenetic role. A role in atherogenesis was demonstrated for monocyte/macrophages, complement system, and T-lymphocytes. Complement activation and C5b-9 deposition occurs both in human and experimental atherosclerosis. Complement C6 deficiency has a protective effect on diet-induced atherosclerosis, indicating that C5b-9 assembly is required for the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. The maturation of atherosclerotic lesions beyond the foam cell stage was shown to be strongly dependent on an intact complement system. C5b-9 may be responsible for cell lysis, and sublytic assembly of C5b-9 induces smooth muscle cell (SMC) and endothelial cell (EC) activation and proliferation. All these data suggest that activation of the complement system plays an important role in atherogenesis.