Tracking down immune markers from alternative system pathway factors in a diabetic population.

Hyperglycemia associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) alters the host immune system, resulting in a predisposition to infectious diseases. The high risk of infection in the diabetic population may lead to life-threatening situations. The early proteins of the alternative complement system pathway, constituting factors P, B, and D, have been shown to play an important role in preventing infection because they form a membrane attack complex (MAC)-C5-9, which debilitates the target microbes and/or molecules via cytotoxic and cytolytic reactions.