To help me remember the classical complement pathway, I remember this video mnemonic of eating some cake at a classic wedding. The whole point of the classical complement system is to recognize & destroy pathogens using complement. Let's set up a wedding cake, but we need a table first. Let's start with the area rug with the picture of this bacteria on it. Let's set up the table first with a stand. This prong looking stand is an antibody. Let's set up the table neck next, using this vertical rod that signifies the Number 1. Since, this looks like a Number 1. This represent C 1 or Complement 1 that attaches to the F C portion of the antibody. Now, C 1 is going to activate C 4, so let's apply a four sided table surface to signify the Number 4 as in C 4. Good job, you set up the table already. Now, let's put the square wedding cake that fortifies that C 4 has been activated. Let's now place a husband and wife ornament on top of the cake. That signifies two for couple, as in C 2. Now you know that C 4 has activated C 2. When you put C 4 and C 2 together, it makes something called C 3 converts, which using your common sense, converts a lot of C 3's actively. Now that the C 4 cake and the C 2 couple ornament are set up, you can make a lot of C 3. This cake can produce a number of triangular slices. Triangles for C 3. C 3 has a tremendous property of tagging a bacteria to allow white blood cells to clear them. This is called opsonization. Now, if you combine the C 4 cake with the C 2 ornament as well as the C 3 slice, you make something called C 5 convertase. And you guessed it, it converts & activates C 5. Notice the 5 fingers of the hungry guest's hands, eager to eat the cake. And after the hungry hands come the hungry mouths, as in membrane attack complexes because C 5 activates the MAC complex, which comprises of C 5, C 6, C 7, C 8 and finally C 9. The membrane attack complex binds to the bacteria and even makes a pore to destroy it. And there you go. That's the classical complement pathway. Now let's enjoy our classical wedding cake.
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