Complement factor H (CFH) is an essential regulator for normal complement activity, which negatively inhibits the alternative pathway and complement amplification. CFH is a large plasma protein encoded by the CFH gene. Human CFH is a 155 kDa heavily glycoprotein composed of 20 complement control protein (CCP) domains (or short consensus repeats), each of which consists of around 60 amino acids with 2 disulfides (CysI-CysIII and CysII-CysIV). The adjacent domains are connected by three to eight residues. The N-terminal CCP1-4 are responsible for the binding to C3b and also act as a cofactor for complement factor I to catalyze C3b proteolysis. The CCP7 and C-terminal CCP19-20 contain binding sites for C3b, C3d, sialic acid, and glycosaminoglycans, which are responsible for anchoring CFH to the host surface.
- When binds to glycosaminoglycans and or sialic acids on host cells, CFH acts as a soluble inhibitor to prevent complement activation on host cell surfaces.
- CFH functions as a cofactor for complement factor I to regulate proteolytic degradation of already-deposited C3b.
- CFH accelerate the decay of C3 convertase C3bBb in the complement alternative pathway, thereby decreasing or inhibiting the formation of C3b.
- CFH also mediates multiple cellular responses through binding to specific receptors, such as complement receptor 3.
Learn more: Factor H Lysate
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