C-Reactive Protein

C-reactive protein contains 1 pentaxin domain and belongs to the pentaxin family. It is expressed in plasma. C-reactive protein is involved in several host defense related functions based on its ability to recognize foreign pathogens and damaged cells of the host and to initiate their elimination by interacting with humoral and cellular effector systems in the blood. Consequently, the level of C-reactive protein in plasma increases greatly during acute phase response to tissue injury, infection, or other inflammatory stimuli. C-reactive protein level is a screen for infectious and inflammatory diseases. Rapid, marked increases in C-reactive protein occur with inflammation, infection, trauma and tissue necrosis, malignancies, and autoimmune disorders. An elevated C-reactive protein level cannot diagnose a specific disease, because there are a large number of disparate conditions that can increase C-reactive protein production. While an elevated C-reactive protein level can provide support for the presence of an inflammatory disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica or giant-cell arteritis.

C-Reactive Protein Related Areas

Immunology>>Innate Immunity>>Acute Phase Proteins>>CRP/C-Reactive Protein

C-Reactive Protein Alternative Names

CRP, C-Reactive Protein, RP11-419N10.4, MGC149895, MGC88244, PTX1, pentraxin 1 [Homo sapiens]

Crp, C-Reactive Protein, AI255847 [Mus musculus]

Summaries for C-Reactive Protein

Entrez Gene summary for CRP:

The protein encoded by CRP gene belongs to the pentaxin family. C-reactive protein is involved in several host defense related functions based on its ability to recognize foreign pathogens and damaged cells of the host and to initiate their elimination by interacting with humoral and cellular effector systems in the blood. Consequently, the level of C-reactive protein protein in plasma increases greatly during acute phase response to tissue injury, infection, or other inflammatory stimuli.

Wikipedia summary for C-Reactive Protein:

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein found in the blood, the levels of which rise in response to inflammation (i.e. C-reactive protein is an acute-phase protein). Its physiological role is to bind to phosphocholine expressed on the surface of dead or dying cells (and some types of bacteria) in order to activate the complement system via the C1Q complex. C-Reactive Protein is synthesized by the liver in response to factors released by fat cells (adipocytes). It is a member of the pentraxin family of proteins. It is not related to C-peptide or protein C. C-reactive protein was the first pattern recognition receptor (PRR) to be identified.

Human C-Reactive Protein Protein General Information

 

• Protein names: C-reactive protein
• Sequence length: 224 AA.
• Domain: C-reactive protein belongs to the pentaxin family. Contains 1 pentaxin domain.
• Cofactor: C-reactive protein binds 2 calcium ions per subunit.
• Sequence similarities: Homopentamer. Pentaxin (or pentraxin) have a discoid arrangement of 5 non-covalently bound subunits.
• Induction: The concentration of C-reactive protein in plasma increases greatly during acute phase response to tissue injury, infection or other inflammatory stimuli. It is induced by IL1/interleukin-1 and IL6//interleukin-6.
• Miscellaneous: This protein owes its name to its ability precipitate pneumococcal C-polysaccharide in the presence of calcium.
• Subcellular location: Secreted.
• Tissue specificity: Found in plasma.
• Mass spectrometry: Molecular mass is 23028 Da from positions 19 - 224. Determined by MALDI.
  Molecular mass is 22930 Da from positions 19 - 223. Determined by MALDI.

General information above from UniProt

Function for C-Reactive Protein Protein

UniProtKB:

C-reactive protein displays several functions associated with host defense: it promotes agglutination, bacterial capsular swelling, phagocytosis and complement fixation through its calcium-dependent binding to phosphorylcholine. C-reactive protein can interact with DNA and histones and may scavenge nuclear material released from damaged circulating cells.

Genatlas:

• C-reactive protein acts as a bacterial catabolite activator protein, acute phase reactant, activating the classical complement pathway
• C-reactive protein has both a recognition and an effector function
• C-reactive protein displays several functions associated with host defense
• C-reactive protein promotes agglutination, bacterial capsular swelling, phagocytosis and complement fixation through its calcium-dependent binding to phosphorylcholine
• C-reactive protein may scavenge nuclear material released from damaged circulating cells
• C-reactive protein induces expression of adhesion molecules in endothelial cells and plays an important role in promoting the inflammatory component of atherosclerosis
• C-reactive protein may promote coagulation by enhancing the expression and activity of tissue factor and reducing that of tissue factor pathway inhibitor by activating NF-kappaB and extracellular signal-regulated kinase via FCGR2B (Pubmed 19631649)
• C-reactive protein up-regulates CSF1 release from monocyte-derived macrophages and aortic endothelial cells and increased macrophage proliferation) (Pubmed 19008293)
• C-reactive protein induces cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase and significant reduction in the levels of CDK4, CDK6 and cyclin D1 in cardiac myocytes (Pubmed 21679689)
• C-reactive protein may play an important role in the cardiac remodeling process, in particular, given that cardiac myocytes are continually exposed to stresses from many exogenous sources responsible for the decrease in cardiac myocytes number (Pubmed 21679689)
• C-reactive protein may affect events leading to cell death in cardiac myocytes, mediated by action mechanism such as cell cycle arrest (Pubmed 21679689)

Homology for human C-Reactive Protein

• homolog to rattus Crp (67.1 pc)
• homolog to murine Crp (70.4 pc)

Drugs for C-Reactive Protein

Target	Drug Name	Disease	Drug Status
C-Reactive Protein	ISIS-CRP	Cardiovascular diseases, Inflammatory disorders	Phase I

Drugs for C-Reactive Protein from TTD (Therapeutic Targets Database)