Question

a)What is the immunological relevance of the elevated C-reactive protein (CRP)? What is the function of CRP in inflammation?

b) Explain the role(s) of the activated T cells and molecular effectors. Explain cell-cell interactions and resulting cytokine/chemokine production.

While he was in the hospital, SARS-CoV-2 was again detected at days 5–6 in nasopharyngeal, sputum and fecal samples, but was undetectable from day 7. Blood C-reactive protein was elevated at 83.2, with normal counts of lymphocytes and neutrophils. No other respiratory pathogens were detected. His management was intravenous fluid rehydration without supplemental oxygenation. No antibiotics, steroids or antiviral agents were administered. Chest radiography demonstrated bi-basal infiltrates at day 5 that cleared on day 10. He was discharged to home isolation on day 1

Answer 1

ANSWER 1 - C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute -phase protein synthesized by hepatocytes in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines during inflammatory / infectious processes. It is known as a biomarker of acute inflammation , but many studies show that CRP is also known to be associated with chronic inflammation. The dissociation of pCRP into pro-inflammatory mCRP might directly link CRP to inflammation . CRP is considered as a serum biomarker in patients undergoing acute inflammatory response.

The elevation in baseline CRP level was shown to be useful to gauge chronic inflammation and tissue damage resulting from excessive inflammation or failure of the initial inflammatory response.

Higher CRP concentrations may be indicative of an acute infection or inflammation and therfore are often excluded in studies of chronic inflammation. Higher CRP concentration over time, rather than spikes in CRP , may result in cardiovascular diseases and problems leading to arthersclerosis .

Furthermore , some chronic inflammatory diseases such as hemorrhagic stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are also associated with CRP formation.

CRP is a substance produced by the liver in response to inflammation.

A high level of CRP in blood is a marker of inflammation . It can be caused by a wide variety of condittions , from infection to cancer.

High CRP levels can also indicate that there's inflammation in the arteries of the heart, which can mean a higher risk of heart attack.