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42 bytes removed ,  13:12, 30 April 2012
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It is the C1 esterase which then first digests components C4 to C4a and C4b, and C2 to C2a and C2b. It is the C4b which first binds to the antigen, and then forms a complex with C2a (some textbooks quote this as "C2b" depending on nomenculture used) to produce the active enzyme '''C3 convertase (classical pathway)'''. The binding of one C1q molecule produces one C1 esterase molecule that can then cause the binding of many hundreds of the C4b&macr;2a molecules (or in some textbooks "C4b&macr;2b"), or the C3 convertase (classical pathway). The role of the convertase is to digest C3 into C3a and C3b. This part of the pathway is self-propagating as the production of C3b can now be amplified by the same mechanism as the alternative pathway (below).  
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It is the C1 esterase which then first digests components C4 to C4a and C4b, and C2 to C2a and C2b. It is the C4b which first binds to the antigen, and then forms a complex with C2a (some textbooks quote this as "C2b" depending on nomenculture used) to produce the active enzyme '''C3 convertase (classical pathway)'''. The binding of one C1q molecule produces one C1 esterase molecule that can then cause the binding of many hundreds of the C4b&macr;2a molecules (or in some textbooks "C4b&macr;2b"). The role of the convertase is to digest C3 into C3a and C3b. This part of the pathway is self-propagating as the production of C3b can now be amplified by the same mechanism as the alternative pathway (below).  
 
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