Title: acute-phase response
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - acute-phase response
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.12840
Status: current

Definition
Physiological response stimulated by cytokines including interleukin-1, interleukin-6, interferons, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), characterized by increased vascular permeability, fever, and increased levels of proteins (thus called acute-phase proteins) such as C-reactive protein (CRP), occurring within a few hours of initiation.

Note
Infection, inflammation, tissue injury, and occasionally neoplasms may trigger the APR.

Related Terms
- C-reactive protein (CRP): https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/12982
- acute-phase proteins: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/12839
- cytokines: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13065
- interleukin: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13338
- tumor necrosis factor (TNF): https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13762

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1117 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12840/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12840/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12840/xml

Citation: Citation: 'acute-phase response' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.12840
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-20T01:22:26+00:00