COMPLEMENT AND ITS ROLE IN IMMUNE-RESPONS E

The complement system as a part of innate immunity is considered to pr ovide rapid tough incomplete antimicrobial activity. However, besides providing a first-line defence, innate immunity plays additional impor tant roles: it initiates and improves the slower, but more specific, a cquired immune response. The recognition and destruction of noxious su bstances, as well as initiation of the acquired immune response, are a ccompanied by potentially hazardous inflammation. The inflammatory pro cess has thus to be tightly regulated. In this overview, innate immuni ty and its interactions with acquired immunity are discussed with the main focus on the complement system. Our scientific interests are inte grated into the discussion on complement.