Acceleration of murine AA amyloid deposition by bovine amyloid fibrils and tissue homogenates

Abstract

Acceleration of amyloid deposition by administration of amyloid fibrils and transmissibility of disease have been reported for several types of amyloidosis. Reactive amyloidosis (AA) occurs in a wide variety of domestic animal species and is characterized by amyloid deposition mainly in spleen, liver, and kidneys. Because the visceral organs of domestic animals have traditionally been used in Asian cuisines, it is important to examine whether dietary ingestion of the organs themselves (rather than purified amyloid fibrils) accelerates AA amyloid deposition. Herein, we show that murine AA amyloidosis develops rapidly after intraperitoneal or oral administration of purified amyloid fibrils or homogenates of amyloid-laden bovine liver. The amyloidosis development in mice was dependent on the concentration of amyloid fibrils or amyloidotic liver homogenates. We found that experimental murine AA amyloidosis was accelerated by dietary ingestion of both purified amyloid fibrils and tissue homogenates that contain amyloid fibrils. We also investigated livers of beef cattle and food chickens to examine whether they contain amyloid-enhancing factor activity. By microscopic examination of hematoxylin and eosin- and Congo red-stained sections, no amyloid deposition was detected in these livers, and no effective activity for experimental induction of AA amyloidosis in mice was detected in homogenates of these livers.

Pathogenic Serum Amyloid A 1.1 Shows a Long Oligomer-rich Fibrillation Lag Phase Contrary to the Highly Amyloidogenic Non-pathogenic SAA2.2

“…AA amyloidosis can be induced in mice by administering extracts of amyloid-laden tissue that act as an amyloid enhancing factor (43,44), and the disease has been shown to propagate via a prion-like mechanism (45). More recently, SAA oligomers have been identified as the species that triggers and transmits AA amyloidosis in mice (30,31).…”

Transmission of Systemic AA Amyloidosis in Animals

“…Although there is a barrier to cross-species transmission of AA amyloidosis, 9,10 and the low levels of amyloid fibrils in muscle may indeed lessen the risk of transmission, the precise details of the transmission mechanism remain unclear. To minimize the risk of food-borne amyloidosis, further investigations of interspecies AA amyloidosis transmission are therefore required.…”

“…9,10,25,38,44,63,78 Bovine amyloid fibrils also exhibit AEF activity in experimental animal systems. Cui et al 9,10 reported the development of AA amyloidosis in mice following the simultaneous oral administration of semi-purified bovine AA fibrils and exposure to an inflammatory stimulus. In these studies, bovine AA fibrils appeared to behave solely as seeds for amyloid formation, because all of the deposited AA fibrils were derived from murine SAA.…”

“…Since bovine and avian AA amyloidosis can be transmitted between different species, 9,10,25,38,44,63,78 the presence of amyloid in edible meat may prove to be a public health hazard. Although there is a barrier to cross-species transmission of AA amyloidosis, 9,10 and the low levels of amyloid fibrils in muscle may indeed lessen the risk of transmission, the precise details of the transmission mechanism remain unclear.…”

Surveillance of Amyloid Deposition and Bacterial Contamination in Chicken Liver from Meat Market

“…In bovine AA amyloidosis, amyloid deposits are observed in several tissues, including edible regions such as skeletal muscle . Since the oral transmission of bovine AA amyloidosis into experimental murine systems has been reported (Cui et al, 2008), the amyloid deposition in edible meat proves a public health problem. Due to the fact that chicken liver is commonly consumed as Yakitori in Japan, the monitoring of amyloid deposition in liver is important, especially from the standpoint of poultry meat hygiene.…”