CRP and chronic kidney disease: DNA from intestinal bacterial populations has been detected in the blood of pre-dialysis CKD and hemodialysis patients and correlated with increased plasma c-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6 levels [70,71,72]; gut bacterial components were found in the mesenteric lymph nodes of uremic rats [73], and endotoxemia was observed in CKD patients and correlated with systemic inflammation and cardiovascular disease in this population [74,75,76].