CRP and metabolic syndrome: First, markers of the inflammatory response such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1), and C-reactive protein (CRP) are strongly associated with features of the metabolic syndrome in humans [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17].