acute phase proteins
Last reviewed 05/2021
Acute phase proteins are proteins whose levels fluctuate in response to tissue injury of a variety of kinds - including trauma, myocardial infarction, acute infections, burns, chronic inflammation - as in Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and malignancy
- synthesised by hepatocytes and are produced in high numbers in response to cytokines released from macrophages (for example, inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and TNF)
Serum proteins that may increase include:
- C-reactive protein
- alpha-1 anti-chymotrypsin
- alpha-1 anti-trypsin
- haptoglobins
- caeruloplasmin
- serum amyloid A
- fibrinogen
- ferritin
- complement components C3, C4
Those that may decrease include:
- pre-albumin and albumin
- transferrin
The acute phase proteins function to:
- regulate inflammatory mediator levels during inflammation in response to demand
- opsonize foreign organisms and particles