A cDNA for human adipsin was isolated and shown to encode a protein sharing 98% amino acid sequence similarity with the protein sequence previously determined for purified natural human complement factor D. Like mouse adipsin, recombinant human adipsin displays the enzymatic activity of human complement factor D, cleaving complement factor B only when B is complexed with activated complement component C3. We conclude that human adipsin is equivalent to complement factor D and that adipsin is the homologue of factor D in rodents. Adipose tissue is a major site of synthesis of human adipsin/complement factor D mRNA, but unlike the case in rodents, human adipsin mRNA is also expressed in monocytes/macrophages. The data presented here, demonstrating the equivalence of human adipsin to complement factor D and its high level of expression in fat, suggest a previously unsuspected role for adipose tissue in immune system biology.