Page 95 - Veterinary Immunology, 10th Edition
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specific antibodies and under conditions in which its enzyme
VetBooks.ir activity is ineffective (Chapter 5).
Complement
The complement system is an essential innate defense subsystem
that consists of a complex mixture of enzymes, regulatory proteins,
and receptors that plays a major role in innate antimicrobial
immunity. This system, described in detail in the next chapter, can
be activated simply by exposing microbial cell walls to serum
proteins since the complement components can also recognize
PAMPs. It can also be activated when antibodies bind to microbial
cell walls. Once activated, complement components, especially C3,
the third component, bind irreversibly to bacteria and initiate
bacterial killing or phagocytosis.
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