The expression of genes associated with the classical pathway of complement activation (C1ra, C1s, C1q, C3, C5, and C7) was increased in mice that had received liposomes with nonbilayer phospholipid arrangements, and this mRNA increase correlated with the detection of C3a and C5a proteins in the spleens of mice with the autoimmune disease. Here, C3 is linked to autoimmune disease.