Usefulness and analytical performances of complement multiplex assay for measuring complement biomarkers in plasma.
Clin Chim Acta 2024;
554:117750. [PMID:
38176523 DOI:
10.1016/j.cca.2023.117750]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
The complement system is involved in numerous diseases, through diverse mechanisms and degree of activation. With the emergence of complement targeting therapeutic, simple and accessible tools to evaluate the extent of complement activation are strongly needed.
METHODS
We evaluated two multiplex panels, measuring complement activation fragments (C4a, C3a, C5a, Bb, Ba, sC5b9) and intact components or regulators (C1q, C2, C3, C4, C5, FD, FP, FH, FI). The specificity of each measurement was assessed by using complement proteins depleted sera and plasma collected from patients with complement deficiencies. Normal values distribution was estimated using 124 plasma samples from healthy donors and complement activation profile was assessed in plasma collected from 31 patients with various complement-mediated disorders.
RESULTS
We observed good inter-assay variation. All tested protein deficiencies were accurately detected. We established assay-specific reference values for each analyte. Except for C3, C4 and C4a, the majority of the measurements were in good agreement with references methods or published data.
CONCLUSION
Our study substantiates the utility of the Complement Multiplex assay as a tool for measuring complement activation and deficiencies. Quantifying complement cleavage fragments in patients exhibiting classical or alternative pathway activation allowed evaluating the activation state of the whole cascade.
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