STUDIES OF ACUTE-PHASE PROTEIN. II. LOCALIZATION OF Cx-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN HEART IN INDUCED MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN RABBITS*

Abstract

The histologic localization of CxRP was studied in inflammatory lesions of heart tissue induced by infarction secondary to coronary artery ligation. CxPR was found within and around necrotic myofibers, beginning approximately 5 hours after ligation, and could not be found in normal myocardium or in other organs, except for traumatized skeletal muscle at the thoractomy site. These observations were interpreted as consistent with the hypothesis that acute phase protein is produced at the inflammatory site as a result of inflammatory or necrotic tissue change. These experimental results direct attention to the possible origin of CRP from injured cardiac myofibers in infarctive and rheumatic inflammation of heart tissue in man.