The Metabolic Interrelationship and Physicochemical Analysis of C-reactive Protein and Hepatic Catalase¹ Free

The relationship of the appearance of rabbit Cx-reactive protein (CxRP) and the depression of enzymatic activity of hepatic catalase in rabbits following 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AT) administration has been examined sequentially. A rapid depletion of rabbit hepatic catalase was accompanied by a corresponding appearance of CxRP in the serum of AT-treated animals. Conversely, the restoration of catalatic activity resulted in a disappearance of CxRP. Similar relationships were obtained following subcutaneous talc or Freund's adjuvant injections of Swiss mice. In addition, the antigenic relationship of human C-reactive protein (CRP) to mouse acute phase protein (M-APP) was shown in double diffusion tests with sheep anti-CRP antiserum (S-CRPA). Physical-chemical evidence which suggests a close relationship of CRP and human hepatic catalase (HHC) is presented. This is shown by a striking similarity in tryptic peptide maps of CRP and HHC following highvoltage paper electrophoresis. Additionally, CxRP incorporated into tissue culture medium containing rabbit liver slices enhanced the catalatic activity and reversed significantly the inhibitory effect of AT. It is suggested that the appearance of CRP may represent changes in metabolic events of the oxidative system, specifically that of catalase.