Pentraxin 3(PTX 3): An Endogenous Modulator of the Inflammatory Response

Abstract

<jats:p>Inflammatory or anti-inflammatory? That is the question as far as the acute-phase response and its mediators, the pentraxins, are concerned. Only some ten years ago, the classical or short pentraxin C-reactive protein and the newly discovered long pentraxin PTX3 were considered to exert most of the detrimental effects of acute inflammation, whether microbial or sterile in origin. However, accumulating evidence suggests an at least dichotomous, context-dependent outcome attributable to the pentraxins, if not a straightforward anti-inflammatory nature of the acute-phase response. This paper is focused on the inherent effects of pentraxin 3 in inflammatory responses, mainly in coronary artery disease and in<jats:italic>Aspergillus fumigatus</jats:italic>infection. Both are examples of inflammatory reactions in which PTX3 is substantially involved; the former sterile, the latter infectious in origin. Apart from different inducing noxae, similarities in the pathogenesis of the two are striking. All the same, the introductory question still persists: is the ultimate impact of PTX3 in these conditions inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, paradoxical as the latter might appear? We try to provide an answer such as it emerges in the light of recent findings.</jats:p>

Inflammatory and endothelial markers during the menstrual cycle

“…CRP is mainly produced in the liver while PTX-3 is produced locally in the inflamed tissue. The differences in synthesis sites and the fact that PTX-3 has previously been reported to be an early marker for preeclampsia and endothelial dysfunction [20,21] was the reason for including PTX-3 in this study. However, we found no clear differences between CRP and PTX-3.…”

“…Both PTX-3 and CRP belong to the protein superfamily of pentraxins and are synthesized under the guidance of interleukins, most prominently IL-6 [20]. CRP is mainly produced in the liver while PTX-3 is produced locally in the inflamed tissue.…”

Serum amyloid A, fetuin-A, and pentraxin-3 levels in patients with ischemic stroke: novel prognostic biomarkers?

“…Studies have shown that higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a classical short pentraxin, are associated with worsening prognosis of IS (3)(4)(5). In acute infections PTX3 plays a protective role by reducing the inflammatory response (6). Especially in acute myocardial infarction, it was shown that the prognostic value of PTX3 was higher than to that provided by troponin T, creatine kinase, CRP, and N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (7).…”

Are Pentraxin 3 and Transsignaling Early Markers for Immunologic Injury Severity in Polytrauma? A Pilot Study

“…1). PTX3 is an extrahepatic acute-phase protein produced in all trauma-relevant cells (endothelial cells, lung epithelial cells, fibroblasts, adipocytes, synovial cells, monocytes, dendritic cells, myocytes, chondrocytes) and is involved in ischemia [1,4,7,9,20,29], reperfusion [29], sepsis [1,4,17], and tissue and lung injury [1,7]. Because of the extrahepatic formation and induction by various trauma-related cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-a), PTX3 is likely involved in the pathophysiologic mechanisms in trauma, although this has not been confirmed.…”