Common laboratory mouse strains have very low complement levels relative to humans,
rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and other mammals, which limits the value of the mouse as an
experimental model. We therefore tested serum complement levels of 43 mouse strains and
11 rat strains, for the purpose of selecting a convenient laboratory animal having high
complement levels. Total complement activity was determined with both erythrocytes and
human tumor cells as targets. Eight mouse strains were identified that have complement …