C-reactive protein

Over the past few years substantial insight was gained into the biol ogy and biochemistry of human C-reactive protein (CRP). X-ray crystallography in conjunction with mutational analyses, generated the three-dimensional structure of the protein and indicated the topology and structure of ligand-binding sites. Using human CRP transgenic mice infected withStreptococcus pneumoniae, we obtained data that clearly established CRP as an important host defense molecule. Studies using the same mice revealed a previ ously unknown testosterone-dependence of constitutive expression of human CRP. In this article we provide a brief overview of these recent findings.