NCIt definition : A protein complex composed of 18 complement component 1q (C1q) subcomponent chains:
six C1qA, six C1qB and six C1qC. The C1q complex is part of the complement component
C1 complex (C1 complex) and undergoes confirmational rearrangement following binding
of pentraxins or antigen-antibody complexes that include either immunoglobulin M (IgM)
or several IgG molecules. These confirmational changes activate the C1r chains of
the C1 complex, which, in turn, cleaves C1s chains of the C1 complex. Following C1s
cleavage, the C1 complex can proteolytically activate C2 and C4 and promotes formation
of C3-convertase, which cleaves C3 and activates the classical complement pathway.;
Alternative definition : CDISC: An antigen of the q subcomponent of the C1 complement protein complex. It can
be considered as an autoantigen and is commonly associated with the autoimmune diseases
systemic lupus erythematosus and severe rheumatoid arthritis.;