| Classical-complement-pathway C3/C5 convertase | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Surface rendering of C3 convertase (C3bBb) stabilized by SCIN | |||||||||
| Identifiers | |||||||||
| EC no. | 3.4.21.43 | ||||||||
| CAS no. | 56626-15-4 | ||||||||
| Alt. names | C42 , C4bC2b (formerly C4bC2a), C3bBb, complement C.hivin.4.hivin2, complement C3 convertase | ||||||||
| Databases | |||||||||
| IntEnz | IntEnz view | ||||||||
| BRENDA | BRENDA entry | ||||||||
| ExPASy | NiceZyme view | ||||||||
| KEGG | KEGG entry | ||||||||
| MetaCyc | metabolic pathway | ||||||||
| PRIAM | profile | ||||||||
| PDB structures | RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum | ||||||||
| |||||||||
C3 convertase (C4bC2b, formerly C4b2a) belongs to family of serine proteases and is necessary in innate immunity as a part of the complement system which eventuate in opsonisation of particles, release of inflammatory peptides, C5 convertase formation and cell lysis.
C3 convertase can be used to refer to the form produced in the alternative pathway (C3bBb) or the classical and lectin pathways (C4bC2b, formerly C4b2a). Once formed, both C3 convertases will catalyze the proteolytic cleavage of C3 into C3a and C3b (hence the name "C3-convertase").
The smaller fragment called C3a serves to increase vascular permeability and promote extravasation of phagocytes, while the larger C3b fragment can be used as an opsonin or bind to either type of C3 convertase to form the trimolecular C5 convertase to activate C5 for the membrane attack complex.