Pentraxin 3 in Cardiovascular Disease

Pentraxin 3 in Cardiovascular Disease Giuseppe Ristagno1*, Francesca Fumagalli1, Barbara Bottazzi2, Alberto Mantovani2,3,4, Davide Olivari1, Deborah Novelli1 and Roberto Latini1 1Department of Cardiovascular Research, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research IRCCS, Milan, Italy 2Humanitas Clinical and Research Center-IRCCS, Milan, Italy 3Humanitas University, Milan, Italy 4The William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom The long pentraxin PTX3 is a member of the pentraxin family produced locally by stromal and myeloid cells in response to proinflammatory signals and microbial moieties. The prototype of the pentraxin family is C reactive protein (CRP), a widely-used biomarker in human pathologies with an inflammatory or infectious origin. Data so far describe PTX3 as a multifunctional protein acting as a functional ancestor of antibodies and playing a regulatory role in inflammation. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and inflammation is crucial in promoting it. Data from animal models indicate that PTX3 can have cardioprotective and atheroprotective roles regulating inflammation. PTX3 has been investigated in several clinical settings as possible biomarker of CVD. Data collected so far indicate that PTX3 plasma levels rise rapidly in acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and cardiac arrest, reflecting the extent of tissue damage and predicting the risk of mortality. ...
Source: Frontiers in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research