Lesavre P H, Müller-Eberhard H J
J Exp Med. 1978 Dec 1;148(6):1498-509. doi: 10.1084/jem.148.6.1498.
Factor D (C3 proactivator convertase) of human serum has been shown to be absolutely necessary for alternative pathway function, for activation of the C3/C5 convertase of that pathway and not to be a subunit of this enzyme. Factor D was found to be present in human plasma in active form only, at a concentration of 2 microgram/ml, and not to be controlled by plasma protease inhibitors or by spontaneous decay. Unlike trypsin, factor D cleaves and activates factor B only when it is in Mg++-dependent complex with C3b, has no esterolytic activity, and is unable to cleave the B chain of insulin. The alleged functional and antigenic relationship of factor D to alpha-thrombin could not be verified. The results of this study led to the description of the mechanism of action of factor D in terms of the cryptic site hypothesis.
人血清中的D因子(C3前活化剂转化酶)已被证明是替代途径发挥功能所绝对必需的,它能激活该途径的C3/C5转化酶,且不是这种酶的一个亚基。研究发现,D因子仅以活性形式存在于人体血浆中,浓度为2微克/毫升,不受血浆蛋白酶抑制剂或自发衰变的控制。与胰蛋白酶不同,D因子只有在与C3b形成Mg++依赖的复合物时才能切割并激活B因子,它没有酯解活性,也无法切割胰岛素的B链。D因子与α-凝血酶之间所谓的功能和抗原关系无法得到证实。这项研究的结果导致了根据隐蔽位点假说来描述D因子的作用机制。