Glossary
C-reactive protein.
Direct answer
C-reactive protein is an acute phase protein made by the liver that binds to damaged cell membranes and to certain bacterial components. In human medicine it serves as the reference inflammation marker because its blood concentration rises clearly. The name comes from its binding to the C polysaccharide of pneumococci.
A raised C-reactive protein reports an inflammatory reaction, never its cause. Bacterial infection, tissue damage after surgery and several other stimuli produce the same rise. Timing matters as well: the increase takes hours, so an early sample can look unremarkable while the reaction is already running underneath.
In the horse, C-reactive protein responds only weakly and is therefore rarely used as a lead marker; serum amyloid A takes that role. This is one of the sharpest lessons of cross species work: the same molecule can be central in one species and nearly silent in another, without differing fundamentally.
Acute phase proteinSerum amyloid AAcute inflammationCytokine
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