Simple and Reproducible ELISA for C-Reactive Protein

Featured Article: Macy EM, Hayes TE, Tracy RP. Variability in the measurement of C-reactive protein in healthy subjects: Implications for reference intervals and epidemiological applications. Clin Chem 1997;43:52–8.1The purpose of the work reported in this paper was 2-fold. First, we sought to develop an immunoassay for C-reactive protein (CRP)2 that could quantify CRP present at low concentrations in healthy people and that had characteristics such as ease of use, high throughput, standardization, and portability. In addition, because CRP was an acute-phase reactant, we wanted to demonstrate that although it had greater biovariability than other biomarkers such as cholesterol, CRP was suitable for use in epidemiological research.Other investigators had previously worked with CRP, but our interest had its origins in a 1990 discussion I had with Lew Kuller, a colleague in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). CHS was a multicenter longitudinal epidemiology study of elderly men and women, funded by NIH. I had received NIH funding to pursue biomarkers of coagulation as possible cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. A few years earlier, the …