CRP and infection: During systemic inflammation caused by trauma, infection, and autoinflammatory or autoimmune diseases, circulating pro-inflammatory mediators trigger acute-phase responses including the synthesis and release of the acute-phase reactants C-reactive protein (CRP), α1-antitrypsin (AAT), and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) (Gabay and Kushner, 1999; Douglas and Hannila, 2022).