Hemolytic complement activity in normal human donor corneas
B. J. Mondino and D. B. Hoffman
Normal human donor corneas were minced into small fragments and eluted for
16 to 23 hours at 4 degrees C. The corneal eluates were then studied for
hemolytic complement activity of C1, C4, C2, C3, C5, C6, and C7 with 50%
hemolysis (CH50) of sensitized sheep RBCs. Sera from ten normal volunteers
were also assayed for hemolytic complement activity in CH50 units per
milliliter. For each complement component, the mean hemolytic activity in
corneas was compared with the mean hemolytic activity in sera. These
comparisons suggest that molecular weight may be a factor in determining
the concentration of complement components in the cornea. The present study
provides normal values of hemolytic complement activity for further studies
of complement consumption in corneal diseases.
