Quantification of complement system activation by measuring C5b-9 cell surface deposition using a cell-ELISA technique

The complement system is an important aspect of immune defense against microbial invasion. Eukaryotic cells express various complement regulatory proteins to protect them from uncontrolled complement activation. However, some eukaryotic cells possess constitutive complement system activation that does not require specific triggering factors, which is known to have unexpected effects on cell proliferation and survival. This area of research is still preliminary and a standard method to measure complement system activation in eukaryotic cells has yet to be identified. Here, we present a quantitative in vitro method to measure complement system activation in eukaryotic cells by detecting C5b-9, the membrane attack complex, on cell surfaces. The results obtained using this assay correlated with C3b deposition measured using flow cytometry and C5b-9 deposition detected using an immunofluorescence assay. Furthermore, we showed that various cancer cell lines displayed different levels of complement system activation by using this assay.