Complement Component 4d (C4d)

C4b was cleaved by C3bINA in the presence of C4b-binding protein and C4d and C4c isolated. The radioactive label and therefore the reactive thiol group were located to C4d. C4d has a mol.wt. of 44500 and a carbohydrate content of 6%. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of C4d, the alpha 3 and the alpha 4 fragments were determined for 18, 24 and 11 residues respectively and, by comparison with the N-terminal sequence of the C4b alpha"""-chain, the 25000-mol.wt. fragment (alpha 3) was shown to be derived from the N-terminal part of the alpha"""-chain. 5. C-Terminal analyses were done on the alpha"""-chain and its three fragments. Arginine was found to be the C-terminal residue of C4d and of the alpha 3 fragment. The C-terminal residue of the alpha"""-chain and of the alpha 4 fragment could not be identified. The specificity of C3bINA is for an Arg--Xaa peptide bond.