title: Serum amyloid A and protein AA: molecular mechanisms of a transmissible amyloidosis.
abstract: Systemic AA-amyloidosis is a complication of chronic inflammatory diseases and the fibril protein AA derives from the acute phase reactant serum AA. AA-amyloidosis can be induced in mice by an inflammatory challenge. The lag phase before amyloid develops can be dramatically shortened by administration of a small amount of amyloid fibrils. Systemic AA-amyloidosis is transmissible in mice and may be so in humans. Since transmission can cross species barriers it is possible that AA-amyloidosis can be induced by amyloid in food, e.g. foie gras. In mice, development of AA-amyloidosis can also be accelerated by other components with amyloid-like properties. A new possible risk factor may appear with synthetically made fibrils from short peptides, constructed for tissue repair.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Biology, Diabetes Research Centre, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Per.Westermark@genpat.uu.se
authors.forename: Gunilla T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Westermark
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Westermark
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D011328:Prions; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein