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Letter from Enrique E. Ecker, Western Reserve University to Michael Heidelberger

 Digital Record
Identifier: 101584940X88

Dates

  • 5 April 1941

Extent

1 Pages

Description

In this letter, Heidelberger surveyed the young field of complement research, a field Heidelberger helped found during the late 1930s and early 1940s by proving that complement was made up of a group of specific chemical substances that could be isolated in the laboratory. Subsequent research has shown that complement is a complex system of over twenty serum proteins that after activation play an essential enzymatic role in host defense mechanisms against invading microorganisms, namely in the promotion of inflammation, phagocytosis (the engulfing of invading organisms by immune cells), and lysis (the breaking up of such organisms).

Language of Materials

English

Original Profiles System Identifier

DHBBGG

Relation Category

UI (NLM)

DHBBGF

Physical Description

Physical Condition - Good

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area

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