In addition to their classical function in directing leukocyte recruitment to sites of infection or tissue damage, C3a and C5a also drive the production of a broad array of pro-inflammatory cytokines thereby amplifying both systemic and neuroinflammatory signaling cascades (Yadav et al., 2023; Schanzenbacher et al., 2023; Duan et al., 2023; Karsten et al., 2012). Here, C5 is linked to infection.