Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: Loss of Complement Factor D suppresses alternative pathway activation but fails to reduce lipofuscin accumulation in the retinal pigmented epithelium of Abca4 -/- mice
doi: 10.1101/2025.10.25.684461
Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Representative blots labelled with the anti-C3d antibody, showing all genotypes. Note the faint C3 α-chain fragment detected with the anti-C3d antibody, which may be the opsonized iC3b α62 fragment (ops iC3b) and was frequently detected in Cfd +/+ but not Cfd -/- conditions. Arrowhead (*) indicates the suspected opsonized C3b α-chain fragment selected for quantification. Higher molecular weight opsonized C3bα fragments were not quantified due to transfer inconsistencies and blot damage, which frequently affected the high molecular weight region of the blots. Rpe65 and β-actin were included as loading controls. B) Quantification of various C3 fragments under reducing conditions from mouse eyecup lysate, detected by the anti-C3d antibody. Animals used in this experiment range from 6-12 months of age. Relative quantities of C3 preprotein, C3α, iC3(H2O) α72, opsonized C3bα (*), iC3b α62 and C3dg were normalized to Rpe65 and β-actin, which were shown to have stable signal across the experimental conditions of interest (Supplementary Figure 6). Given the large number of experimental conditions, samples were run across multiple blots with a mix of genotypes per blot. To control for variability between blots, normalized C3 fragment quantities were expressed relative to the C3α fragment from WT samples. Note that quantities of C3α and iC3(H2O) α72 (filled circles) are represented on the left y-axis, and quantities of the preprotein, opsonized C3bα, iC3b α62 and C3dg fragments (empty circles) are represented on the right y-axis. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, revealing an effect of C3 fragment (p<0.0001), genotype (p<0.0001) and C3 fragment X genotype (p<0.0001). Multiple comparisons were performed using Tukey’s test, and p-values <0.05 are shown on the graph. C-D) Analysis of data from D, organized by independent variable (Abca4 genotype and Cfd genotype, respectively). Within each C3 fragment, data are represented relative to the respective control conditions ( Abca4 +/+ or Cfd +/+ ). Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, revealing an effect of C3 fragment X genotype for the Cfd genotype (p<0.0001) but not Abca4 genotype (p=0.6). Multiple comparisons were performed using Šídák’s test, and p-values <0.05 are shown on the graph. Each data point is a measurement from a single animal, and data are represented as mean +/- 95% C.I. for all graphs.
Article Snippet: C3 labeling was quantified in mouse eyecup structures, such as the RPE and choroid, using antibodies generated against full-length mouse C3 protein (referred to as “anti-C3”, MP Biomedicals) or purified mouse C3d (referred to as “anti-C3d”, R&D Systems) ( ).
Techniques: Molecular Weight, High Molecular Weight, Control