Complement Properdin Regulates the Metabolo-Inflammatory Response to a High Fat Diet.

Overnutrition leads to a metabolic and inflammatory response that includes the activation of Complement. Properdin is the only amplifier of complement activation and increases the provision of complement activation products. Its absence has previously been shown to lead to increased obesity in mice on a high fat diet.

Complement Properdin Determines Disease Activity in MRL/ Mice.

In systemic lupus erythematosus, circulating immune complexes activate complement and, when trapped in renal capillaries, cause glomerulonephritis. Mouse models have been used in the preclinical assessment of targeting complement activation pathways to manage chronic inflammation in lupus. Properdin is the only known positive regulator of complement activation, but its role in the severity of lupus nephritis has not been studied yet.