Complement inhibition by anti-C5 antibodies--from bench to bedside and back again.

The complement system is an important part of the innate immune system with pro-inflammatory and regulatory functions. Although many experimental studies have demonstrated that complement inhibition might be advantageous in a number of different human diseases, complement inhibition is still not part of the clinical treatment routine. With blocking antibodies against complement C5 a new generation of therapeutic complement inhibitors has now been investigated in some human diseases. This review gives an overview on the new complement inhibitors and the results obtained in clinical studies thus far.