Complement peptide receptors (nomenclature as agreed by the NC-IUPHAR subcommittee on Complement peptide receptors [21]) are activated by the endogenous ~75 amino-acid anaphylatoxin polypeptides C3a (C3, P01024) and C5a (C5, P01031), generated upon stimulation of the complement cascade.

SB290157 has also been reported to have agonist properties at the C3a receptor [24]. The putative chemoattractant receptor termed C5a₂ (also known as GPR77, C5L2) binds [¹²⁵I]C5a with no clear signalling function, but has a putative role opposing inflammatory responses [8,13-14]. Binding to this site may be displaced with the rank order C5a des-Arg (C5)> C5a (C5, P01031) [8,26] while there is controversy over the ability of C3a (C3, P01024) and C3a des Arg (C3, P01024) to compete [16,18-19,26]. C5a₂ appears to lack G protein signalling and has been termed a decoy receptor [29]. However, C5a₂ does recruit arrestin after ligand binding, which might provide a signaling pathway for this receptor [5,31], and forms heteromers with C5a₁. C5a, but not C5a-des Arg, induces upregulation of heteromer formation between complement C5a receptors C5a₁ and C5a₂ [10]. There are also reports of pro-inflammatory activity of C5a₂, mediated by HMGB1, but the signaling pathway that underlies this is currently unclear (reviewed in [23]). More recently, work in T cells has shown that C5a₁ and C5a₂ act in opposition to each other and that altering the equilibrium between the two receptors, by differential expression or production of C5a-des Arg (which favours C5a₂), can affect the final cellular response [4].

* Key recommended reading is highlighted with an asterisk

* Arbore G, Kemper C. (2016) A novel "complement-metabolism-inflammasome axis" as a key regulator of immune cell effector function. Eur. J. Immunol., 46 (7): 1563-73. [PMID:27184294]

Coulthard LG, Woodruff TM. (2015) Is the complement activation product C3a a proinflammatory molecule? Re-evaluating the evidence and the myth. J. Immunol., 194 (8): 3542-8. [PMID:25848071]

Hajishengallis G. (2010) Complement and periodontitis. Biochem. Pharmacol., 80 (12): 1992-2001. [PMID:20599785]

* Klos A, Wende E, Wareham KJ, Monk PN. (2013) International Union of Pharmacology. LXXXVII. Complement peptide C5a, C4a, and C3a receptors. Pharmacol. Rev., 65 (1): 500-43. [PMID:23383423]

* Li R, Coulthard LG, Wu MC, Taylor SM, Woodruff TM. (2013) C5L2: a controversial receptor of complement anaphylatoxin, C5a. FASEB J., 27 (3): 855-64. [PMID:23239822]

Manthey HD, Woodruff TM, Taylor SM, Monk PN. (2009) Complement component 5a (C5a). Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol., 41 (11): 2114-7. [PMID:19464229]

* Monk PN, Scola AM, Madala P, Fairlie DP. (2007) Function, structure and therapeutic potential of complement C5a receptors. Br. J. Pharmacol., 152 (4): 429-48. [PMID:17603557]

Sacks SH. (2010) Complement fragments C3a and C5a: the salt and pepper of the immune response. Eur. J. Immunol., 40 (3): 668-70. [PMID:20186746]

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Subcommittee members: Peter Monk (Chairperson) Department of Infection and Immunity Sheffield University Medical School Beech Hill Road Sheffield S10 2RX, UK Trent Woodruff (Co-chairperson) School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, BNE, QUEENSLAND 4072

Other contributors: Liam Coulthard School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, BNE, QUEENSLAND 4072 Owen Hawksworth School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, BNE, QUEENSLAND 4072 Vincenzo Mitolo Department of Pharmaco-Biology University of Bari Italy Maria Panaro Department of Pharmaco-Biology University of Bari Italy