Pentraxins, humoral innate immunity and tissue injury.

Tissue damage elicits an inflammatory response, which comprises the rapid synthesis of acute phase molecules. The early local response shapes the resolution of inflammation. Pentraxins are evolutionary conserved soluble pattern recognition receptors, produced in the liver (e.g. C-reactive protein) or at sites of inflammation (the long pentraxin PTX3). Pentraxins behave as flexible adaptors of innate cell functions, complement activation and clearance of cell and matrix debris, regulating tissue hyperplasia and scarring and limiting the risk of autoimmunity associated to unscheduled cell death in vivo.