Lack of production of either functional C1r or C1s protein, due to a genetic defect. Approximately 60% of patients with a C1r/C1s deficiency will develop a severe systemic lupus erythematosus at an early age. Patients also present with frequent sinopulmonary infections often with Streptococcus pneumoniae.

MASP2 deficiency, classically defined as MASP2 protein level of less than 100 ng/ml, occurs in about 4% of Caucasians and up to 18% of some African populations. Some MASP2-deficient individuals have increased risk of infection or autoimmune disease, but most are asymptomatic. MASP2 plays a role in activation of the lectin pathway of the complement system; deficiency may thus lead to defects in the complement system (summary by Thiel et al., 2007 and Sokolowska et al., 2015). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of lectin complement activation pathway defects, see LCAPD1 (614372).