Infection Biology Research Program, Department of Virology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Ann Med. 2012 Aug;44(5):468-75. doi: 10.3109/07853890.2011.573500. Epub 2011 Apr 15.
Hantaviruses are important human pathogens that cause clinical diseases characterized by renal and cardiopulmonary manifestations. Their pathogenesis is currently poorly understood. We have studied the role of the complement system in the pathogenesis of Puumala (PUUV) hantavirus infection.
We studied the activation of complement by measuring the terminal complement complex SC5b-9 and complement component C3 and C4 levels in patients with acute PUUV infection. Several laboratory parameters and clinical findings reflecting the severity of PUUV-HFRS were evaluated with regard to complement activation.
The levels of SC5b-9 were significantly increased and C3 decreased in the acute stage as compared to the levels at full recovery (P < 0.001). We found that SC5b-9 levels were higher in patients with chest X-ray abnormalities than in patients with a normal X-ray during the acute stage (P = 0.028). Furthermore, SC5b-9 and C3 levels showed significant correlation with several clinical and laboratory parameters that reflect the severity of the acute PUUV infection.
We showed that the complement system becomes activated via the alternative pathway in the acute stage of PUUV infection and the level of activation correlates with disease severity. The results further suggest that complement activation may contribute to the pathogenesis of acute PUUV infection.
汉坦病毒是重要的人类病原体，可引起以肾和心肺表现为特征的临床疾病。其发病机制目前了解甚少。我们研究了补体系统在普马拉（PUUV）汉坦病毒感染发病机制中的作用。
我们通过测量急性 PUUV 感染患者的末端补体复合物 SC5b-9 和补体成分 C3 和 C4 的水平来研究补体的激活。我们评估了反映 PUUV-HFRS 严重程度的几个实验室参数和临床发现与补体激活的关系。
与完全恢复期相比，急性阶段的 SC5b-9 水平明显升高，C3 水平降低（P<0.001）。我们发现，在急性阶段，胸部 X 线异常患者的 SC5b-9 水平高于 X 线正常患者（P=0.028）。此外，SC5b-9 和 C3 水平与反映急性 PUUV 感染严重程度的几个临床和实验室参数呈显著相关。
我们表明，补体系统在 PUUV 感染的急性阶段通过替代途径被激活，激活程度与疾病严重程度相关。结果进一步表明，补体激活可能有助于急性 PUUV 感染的发病机制。
