CRP and atherosclerosis: PTX3 is a long multimeric acute-phase protein associated with CAD.[17] It is released[136] in response to tissue damage and inflammatory cytokines activation.[17] PTX3 is known as an activator of the complement system and the humoral arm of the innate immune system.[137] Consequently, it serves as a specific marker for inflammatory and atherosclerotic changes in the vascular wall[138,139] independent of traditional risk factors.[140] PTX3 is associated with advanced atherosclerosis and demonstrates superior predictive ability for CVD compared with CRP due to its higher specificity.