Immune complex binding efficiency of erythrocyte complement receptor 1 (CR1).

C3b-coated immune complexes adhere to the complement receptor 1 (CR1, CD35) on human erythrocytes. This multi-valent binding might be favoured by the known clustering of CR1 and by the multiple C3b-binding sites on each CR1. The size of the CR1 clusters correlates directly with the number of CR1/erythrocytes, and the different structural CR1 alleles bear between two and five C3b-binding sites. Using radiolabelled hepatitis B surface antigen-antibody complexes, we investigated whether CR1 numbers and structural alleles modulate the ability of erythrocytes to bind immune complexes, and assessed if any reorganization of immune complexes takes place at the erythrocyte surface after the initial binding reaction. The binding efficiency (immune complexes/CR1) correlated with CR1 number as determined by the maximal binding at 4 degrees C, the kinetics of binding at 37 degrees C, and the binding in the presence of excess immune complexes and of immune complexes of small size. Binding efficiencies were similar for erythrocytes with low CR1 from normal subjects and patients with AIDS or SLE. A monoclonal antibody blocking the C3b-binding sites (3D9) of CR1 interfered with binding efficiency at a lower concentration on cells bearing low CR1 numbers, suggesting that CR1 clustering is essential. The larger alleles of CR1 (DD and BB) were more efficient than AA alleles. The distribution of immune complexes, visualized by immunofluorescence, was heterogeneous on erythrocytes: about two out of three cells bore between one and 12 immune complexes. No visible immune complex reorganization took place after initial binding, as prefixed erythrocytes displayed the same immune complex distribution and number/erythrocytes as unfixed erythrocytes. The contribution of CR1 alleles in immune complex binding efficiency was confirmed by morphological analysis. These results demonstrate that immune adherence efficiency is the resultant of the CR1 clustering, as well as the particular alleles carried by erythrocytes. Moreover, there is little or no immune complexes surface reorganization after the initial binding reaction.