Publisher Summary This chapter describes the interaction of immune complexes (ICs) with
complement and with the cells of the immune system. The effect of immune complexes
depends to a great extent on their antigen–antibody ratio so that their influence, either
stimulatory or suppressive, is itself modulated by quantitative aspects of the immune
response. The development of numerous techniques for the detection and quantitation of
immune complexes has stimulated clinically related research and expanded the list of …