Serum Concentration of C-Reactive Protein in Patients Treated for Acute and Chronic Odontogenic Infections

C-reactive protein (CRP) was first described in 1930 by Tillett and Francis [1], and its name is associated with its ability to bind the main cell membrane protein of Streptococci. At first, CRP was believed to be excreted only under pathogenic conditions, during inflammatory reactions, but discovery of it synthesis in the liver showed that this protein is also present under physiologic conditions CRP performs many important functions in the body, among which binding and detoxification of tissue breakdown products and their elimination seem to be the most important ones. It attaches to bacteria, which activates the complement system. This initiates opsonization of the bacterial cell, which is followed by the phagocytosis and lysis of the foreign cells.