Pexelizumab
Encyclopedia
Pexelizumab is a drug designed to reduce side effects of coronary artery bypass grafting and angioplasty
, among other types of cardiac surgery
. It is a single chain variable fragment
of a monoclonal antibody targeted against component 5
of the complement system
.
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...
, among other types of cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
. It is a single chain variable fragment
Single chain variable fragment
A single-chain variable fragment is a fusion protein of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of immunoglobulins, connected with a short linker peptide of ten to about 25 amino acids...
of a monoclonal antibody targeted against component 5
Complement component 5
Complement component 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the C5 gene.Complement component 5 is involved in the complement system. It is cleaved into C5a and C5b:* C5a plays an important role in chemotaxis....
of the complement system
Complement system
The complement system helps or “complements” the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear pathogens from an organism. It is part of the immune system called the innate immune system that is not adaptable and does not change over the course of an individual's lifetime...
.