Abstract
ABSORPTION of serum at 15° C with zymosan renders the serum deficient in properdin and destroys the capacity of such RP serum to haemolyse paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria erythrocytes (PNHE)1. Absorption of serum with zymosan at 0° C does not remove properdin, but does remove a zymosan specific fraction (‘0° factor’), so that on incubation with fresh zymosan at 15° C properdin is no longer affected2. Recent work in this laboratory has defined the PNHE haemolytic system as one dependent on fluid phase complement (C′) activation resulting in red cell membrane destruction as a result of direct attack by C′3 sub-components3. C′l esterase or C′l activators have been shown to enhance PNHE lysis and in addition certain C′l activators such as polyinosinic acid (poly I) may initiate the haemolysis of normal human erythrocytes (NHE), presumably by similar fluid phase complement reactions4. Thrombin has also been shown to enhance PNHE lysis, but the mechanism of this enhancement has been the subject of considerable controversy. The observations shown in Table 1 were designed to assess the relative role of properdin and ‘0° factor’ in native and poly I enhanced PNHE lysis, and to compare the stimulating effect of poly I on PNHE haemolysis with the ability of thrombin (‘Thrombin’, bovine, Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, Mich.), both absorbed with NHE and unabsorbed, to enhance PNHE lysis.
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YACHNIN, S. Role of Properdin, 0° Factor, Polyinosinic Acid, and Thrombin in the Haemolysis of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Haemoglobinuria Erythrocytes. Nature 207, 536 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/207536a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/207536a0
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