title: SAP: structure, function, and its roles in immune-related diseases.
abstract: Serum amyloid P component (SAP), also known as pentraxin-2, is a member of the pentraxin protein family with an established relationship to the immune response. In the last century, SAP has been used as a diagnostic marker in amyloidosis diagnosis and patient follow-up. SAP has been thought to have potential for treating and curing amyloidosis and fibrosis diseases. More recently, it has been shown that SAP may serve as both a diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target for many immune-related diseases, such as cardiovascular, pulmonary, nephritic, neurological and autoimmune diseases. In the cardiovascular system, SAP has been defined as the culprit in amyloidosis in the heart. SAP may also exert a protective role during the early stage of atherosclerosis and myocardial fibrosis. In noncardiovascular system diseases, SAP is being developed for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. In this review, we summarize SAP history, structure, and its roles in immune-related diseases in different systems with emphasis on the cardiovascular system.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: TianTian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Haowei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Jichen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Menghao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, PR China. Electronic address: guozhigang126@126.com.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component
keywords: Amyloidosis; Fibrosis; Immune-related diseases; Serum amyloid P component (SAP)