Schumaker V N, Tseng Y, Poon P H, Bianchino A C, Zavodszky P
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
Behring Inst Mitt. 1989 Jul(84):102-10.
Evidence will be presented that first order, spontaneous activation of solution C1 at 37 degrees C under physiological conditions is a very slow process with a half-life of the order of one day and perhaps considerably longer. In addition, negative evidence will be presented showing that the formation of functionally significant levels of a complex between C1-Inhibitor and unactivated C1 does not occur. Such a complex had been previously postulated to explain the strong inhibition of the spontaneous activation of C1 which was observed upon the addition of C1-Inhibitor. Rather, we shall demonstrate that C1 catalytically activates C1, and that a critical role for C1-inhibitor is to complex with C1 to eliminate this autocatalytic reaction.
