Pentraxin 2/SAP: Proteins and Enzymes

Pentraxin or Pentraxin 2 (PTX2), also known as Serum Amyloid P component (SAP), is a secreted serum glycoprotein belonging to the pentraxin superfamily. Pentraxins have a characteristic pentagonal discoid arrangement of five non-covalently bound subunits and bind a variety of molecules in a calcium- dependent lectin-like manner through a pattern-recognition-binding site. PTX2 is a major acute-phase protein and may function as an opsonin for a variety of ligands. PTX2 also associates ubiquitously with all amyloid deposits implicated in diseases including Alzheimer's and prion diseases, type 2 diabetes and various systemic amyloidoses.