A 19 year old student was found to have recurrent meningococcal infections and on investigation, of her immune function, it was found that her serum contained no haemolytic complement activity. She...

A 19 year old student was found to have recurrent meningococcal infections
and on investigation, of her immune function, it was found that her serum
contained no haemolytic complement activity. She was later found to have a
genetic deficiency of the complement component C8.
Discuss the importance of complement in our immune defence and the
consequences of a C8 deficiency. (100%)
Ans.
The complement system of our body complements or helps in the functioning
of the immune system of our body. It assists the phagocytic cells and
antibodies to remove pathogens from the body. It is referred to as the innate
immune system which is present in a person from its birth and stay same
throughout its lifetime.
Small proteins in our blood which usually circulate in blood as inactive
precursors form the complement system. These proteins, upon activation,
trigger the activation of cell-killing...