What is a C3 and C4 blood test for?
C3 & C4 Blood Test measures the levels of Complement component 3 and Complement component 4 in the blood. The complement system comprises of more than 30 proteins in the blood, that play a significant role in the body’s immune system.
What does elevated C3 and C4 mean?
It seems that elevated C3 and C4 are likely to result of increased synthesis in the liver in response to cytokines e.g. IL-1β, IL-6 or tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which are increased in active CU and are known to control synthesis of the APR proteins [9].
What does it mean when your C3 and C4 is low?
If your C3 and C4 levels are reduced, this may be a sign that you have lupus. Usually your total complement level is also slightly lower in this situation. Low C3 and C4 levels may also be a sign of alcoholic liver disease, but this is less common.
What does C4 blood test mean?
A complement C4 (also known as a complement component 4, or simply C4) is a test to measure the level of C4 proteins you have in your blood. These proteins play a role in how your immune system functions and defends your body from harmful bacteria and viruses.
What is C3 and C4 in lupus?
Low C3 and C4 levels, below 60 for C3 and 15 for C4 (in the usual American measure), occur in active lupus, especially in the setting of kidney disease or immune breakdown of blood cells (autoimmune hemolytic anemia, AIHA).
What causes low C4 complement levels?
Low complement C4 levels are most commonly found in lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus), an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues [9, 10]. Patients with lupus can have persistently low C4 levels (< 10 mg/dL).
What causes C4 to be high?
Possible causes of elevated complement levels include: cancer, viral infections, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmunity (psoriasis, ulcerative colitis).
What does it mean if your complement C4 is high?
Higher-than-normal complement C4 values may be a sign of cancer, ulcerative colitis, and inflammation in general. Lower-than-normal complement C4 values could indicate: bacterial infections. hepatitis.
How can I raise my C4 levels?
Drugs such as cimetidine (Tagamet) may increase complement C4 levels, but more research is needed [61].
Does low C3 and C4 always mean lupus?
Low C3 and C4 levels, below 60 for C3 and 15 for C4 (in the usual American measure), occur in active lupus, especially in the setting of kidney disease or immune breakdown of blood cells (autoimmune hemolytic anemia, AIHA). Some types of lupus, such as brain disease, do not cause low complement levels.
What happens to C3 and C4 in SLE?
C3 and C4 are also acute phase reactants, implicating an increased synthesis rate in response to inflammatory stimuli. Similarly, this increased synthesis rate may compensate for the increased breakdown demonstrated in SLE due to complement activation [39].
What does it mean if your Complement C3 is high?
What do high levels of C3 mean? Higher-than-normal levels of C3 proteins can indicate that you’ve just had an infection and your immune system is responding to it. If you’re getting treatment for lupus or another autoimmune disease, higher levels of C3 proteins usually mean that treatment is working.
What causes elevated C3 levels?
Abstract. Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CU) is associated with activation of the acute phase response (APR).
What causes low C3 and C4 levels?
Puffy hands or other scleroderma-like features
What causes high C3 levels?
– Frequent, persistent and recurrent infections – Butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks – Hair loss – Ulcers in mouth or nose – Fatigue – Joint pain and swelling – Lightheadedness – Swelling around eyes (periorbital oedema) or over hands and feet
What does an elevated C3 and C4 mean?
In certain cases, increased levels as a test result for the C3 and C4 blood tests may also be an indication of cancer. Leukemia, sarcoma, or Hodgkin’s Lymphoma are all known to produce these compliment results. Simply having an increased test reading is not an indication that cancer is present.