arrow
Return

Complement Factor H-Based Therapeutics: A Comprehensive Overview

delete2026-09-29
delete0
delete
OA
AI
S
Sebastiaan M. W. R. Hamers
E
Emmy J. Buter
R
Richard B. Pouw *
DOI:10.1002/eji.70241delete
deleteOriginal
deleteOriginal request for help
deleteShare
deleteSave
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
The complement system is a key component of innate immunity, modulating immunological processes to maintain proper homeostasis. However, dysregulation of the complement can lead to severe pathologies. Complement therapeutics strive to reduce and lower the risk of breakthrough complement activation, and the field has been growing steadily since the first complement-regulating compound was introduced to the clinic in 2007, with many complement-regulating strategies currently under development. This review focuses on therapeutic developments surrounding factor H (FH), which is a critical and native regulator of complement. FH is a complement inhibitor that controls the self-amplifying alternative pathway (AP). It functions by destabilizing C3 and C5 AP convertases through decay-accelerating activity, mainly via competition with factor B for binding to C3b. Additionally, FH acts as a cofactor for factor I, which cleaves C3b into iC3b. The classical and lectin pathways converge at the C3 level, triggering the AP self-amplification loop. Independently, the AP is triggered by a tick-over mechanism that is continuously activated. Both the amplification loop and the tick-over mechanism of the AP are controlled by FH. Consequently, enhancing FH function in a dysregulated system represents a promising therapeutic approach. FH-driven therapeutic strategies include replenishing FH via plasma-derived or recombinantly produced full-length FH. On top of that, protein-engineered constructs that contain FH fragments both with and without targeting mechanisms are under development, as well as modulating moieties such as antibodies and peptides that bind and potentiate FH. In this review, we provide an extensive overview of these developments, discuss the underlying rationale of each strategy, and evaluate their status in the therapeutic pipeline.

Journal

European Journal of Immunology cover
European Journal of Immunology
IF:
3.7
Papers:
351
Citations:
1.9W

Organization

No organization information available
Cited Papers

Cited Papers

ADX-097, a Tissue-Targeted Complement Inhibitor for the Treatment of Kidney Diseases: Phase 1 Results in Healthy Participants and Model-Informed Phase 2 Dose Selection
err
IF0
err2024-10-01
err0
PREAI
errBernd Jilma; Katherine Anne Vernon; Hong Wu; Stefan Wawersik; David Rezendes; Ryan Faucette; Richard Leigh-Pemberton; Justin L. Hay; Christina Lourdes Mayer; Shelia Violette; Jason Campagna
errShare
errSave
A Novel Targeted Inhibitor of the Alternative Pathway of Complement and Its Therapeutic Application in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
err2008-12-01
err132
errOAAI
errHuang, Yuxiang; Qiao, Fei; Atkinson, Carl; Holers, V. Michael; Tomlinson, Stephen
errShare
errSave
Uncontrolled C3 activation causes membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in mice deficient in complement factor H
err2002-07-01
err460
PREAI
errPickering, MC; Cook, HT; Warren, J; Bygrave, AE; Moss, J; Walport, MJ; Botto, M
errShare
errSave
Production of biologically active complement factor H in therapeutically useful quantities
err2011-04-01
err0
errOAAI
errChristoph Q. Schmidt; Fern C. Slingsby; Anna Richards; Paul N. Barlow
errShare
errSave
Structure of complement fragment C3b-factor H and implications for host protection by complement regulators
err2009-06-07
err299
errOAAI
errWu, Jin; Wu, You-Qiang; Ricklin, Daniel; Janssen, Bert J. C.; Lambris, John D.; Gros, Piet
errShare
errSave
Complement factor H contributes to mortality in humans and mice with bacterial meningitis
err2019-12-28
err15
errOAAI
errKasanmoentalib, E. Soemirien; Seron, Mercedes Valls; Engelen-Lee, Joo Yeon; Tanck, Michael W.; Pouw, Richard B.; van Mierlo, Gerard; Wouters, Diana; Pickering, Matthew C.; van der Ende, Arie; Kuijpers, Taco W.; Brouwer, Matthijs C.; van de Beek, Diederik
errShare
errSave
Effective long-term treatment with moss-produced factor H by overcoming the antibody response in a mouse model of C3G
err2025-03-07
err0
errOAAI
errTschongov, Todor; Konwar, Swagata; Kleindienst, Jessika; Dabrowska-Schlepp, Paulina; Busch, Andreas; Schaaf, Andreas; Schell, Christoph; Rogg, Manuel; Haeffner, Karsten
errShare
errSave
Factor H-Related (FHR)-1 and FHR-2 Form Homo- and Heterodimers, while FHR-5 Circulates Only As Homodimer in Human Plasma
err2017-10-18
err34
errOAAI
errvan Beek, Anna E.; Pouw, Richard B.; Brouwer, Mieke C.; van Mierlo, Gerard; Geissler, Judy; Ooijevaar-de Heer, Pleuni; De Boer, Martin; van Leeuwen, Karin; Rispens, Theo; Wouters, Diana; Kuijpers, Taco W.
errShare
errSave
Protection of Nonself Surfaces from Complement Attack by Factor H-Binding Peptides: Implications for Therapeutic Medicine
err2011-04-01
err85
errOAAI
errWu, You-Qiang; Qu, Hongchang; Sfyroera, Georgia; Tzekou, Apostolia; Kay, Brian K.; Nilsson, Bo; Ekdahl, Kristina Nilsson; Ricklin, Daniel; Lambris, John D.
errShare
errSave
Moss-produced human complement factor H with modified glycans has an extended half-life and improved biological activity
err2024-05-10
err1
errOAAI
errTschongov, Todor; Konwar, Swagata; Busch, Andreas; Sievert, Christian; Hartmann, Andrea; Noris, Marina; Gastoldi, Sara; Aiello, Sistiana; Schaaf, Andreas; Panse, Jens; Zipfel, Peter F.; Dabrowska-Schlepp, Paulina; Haeffner, Karsten
errShare
errSave
researcher View more