Why use CRP as an indicator?
CRP and more recently hs-CRP (highly sensitive CRP) is a reliable marker of inflammation, lnterleukin-6, which is synthesized in the liver, is the focal point of the inflammatory cascade, The end result is activation of the complement system, Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) is also activated by this system, It causes ‘death and transfiguration’ of the endothelial lining of blood vessels. Messenger RNA (mRNA) assays for CRP revealed that atherosclerotic plaques contain CRP-mRNA in high amounts. CRP causes aggregates of LDL and VLDL, which can be inflammatory to the endothelial cells and lead to foam cell formation. T-cells of the CD4 and CD28 null variety cytolyse the plaque under the influence of CRP (1, 2). Because atherosclerosis is now considered an inflammatory disease and an elevated level of CRP in the circulating blood suggests persistent inflammation, particularly in the coronary wall, CRP has evolved rapidly as a promising way to monitor disease progression (1,2,3).
