∞ generated and posted on 2023.05.20 ∞
Body signaling molecules whose blood plasma concentrations rise and fall in the course of inflammatory responses.
| Acute Phase Proteins – also actute-phase reactants (as well as acute-phase proteins, i.e., with the hyphen) – serve as the means by which bodies control the extent of inflammatory responses. |
Stimulation of toll-like receptors results in release of cytokines such as by macrophages. These cytokines, once they reach the liver, stimulate the production of acute-phase proteins.
Additional acute-phase proteins reside in the blood and are activated in response to inflammation. The activation and release of acute-phase proteins in turn contributes to the development and maintenance of inflammatory responses.
Acute-phase proteins can be differentiated into those whose increase corresponds to an increase in inflammation and those whose increase corresponds to a decrease in inflammation (and therefore which decrease in concentration during inflammation).
Basically these are homeostatic mechanisms acting to both enhance and limit inflammation.