Systemic AA amyloidosis in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Abstract

Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis occurs spontaneously in many mammals and birds, but the prevalence varies considerably among different species, and even among subgroups of the same species. The Blue fox and the Gray fox seem to be resistant to the development of AA amyloidosis, while Island foxes have a high prevalence of the disease. Herein, we report on the identification of AA amyloidosis in the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Edman degradation and tandem MS analysis of proteolyzed amyloid protein revealed that the amyloid partly was composed of full-length SAA. Its amino acid sequence was determined and found to consist of 111 amino acid residues. Based on inter-species sequence comparisons we found four residue exchanges (Ser31, Lys63, Leu71, Lys72) between the Red and Blue fox SAAs. Lys63 seems unique to the Red fox SAA. We found no obvious explanation to how these exchanges might correlate with the reported differences in SAA amyloidogenicity. Furthermore, in contrast to fibrils from many other mammalian species, the isolated amyloid fibrils from Red fox did not seed AA amyloidosis in a mouse model.

Amiloidosis sistémica AA: un problema potencial de salud pública

“…Amiloidosis sistémica AA Antecedentes Las amiloidosis sistémicas culminan con la muerte alrededor de 6 meses después de su diagnóstico, hasta en un 20% de los pacientes y causan 1/1000 muertes en los países desarrollados donde continúan siendo un problema médico no resuelto (Scarpioni et al, 2016). Las proteínas fibrilares se sintetizan en su forma nativa en una localización como el hígado o la médula ósea, se liberan a la circulación y finalmente se depositan en varios tejidos (Rising et al, 2017).…”

“…La amiloidosis AA ocurre de manera espontánea en muchas especies de aves y mamíferos, pero la prevalencia varía considerablemente aún entre subgrupos de la misma especie (Rising et al, 2017). Al igual que en los priones, se ha observado la transmisión en bovinos, aves, ratones y chitas (Murakami et al, 2014).…”

“…Existen estudios observacionales en animales silvestres en cautiverio, que han reportado una alta prevalencia de amiloidosis: mono Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) (Blanchard et al, 1986;Rice et al, 2013, Leung et al, 2019, guepardos (Acinonyx jubatus) (Papendick et al, 1997;Zhang et al, 2008;Franklin et al, 2016), monos tití ( Callithrix jacchus), macacos cola de cerdo (Macaca nemestrina) (Rice et al, 2013;Hukkanen et al, 2006), halcones de caza (Hampel et al, 2009), berrendos (Antilocapra americana) (Martínez et al, 2019), tejones (Meles meles) (Bianco et al, 2020 ), caracales (Caracal caracal) (Greunz et al, 2020); gorriones capuchinos del Japón (Lonchura striata var. domestica) (Nakano & Madarame, 2020) y tupayas (Tupaia belangeri) (Klein et al, 2021) Lo mismo ha sido observado en vida silvestre en especies como: zorros isleños (Urocyon littoralis) (Gaffney et al, 2016), zorros rojos (Vulpes vulpes) (Rising et al, 2017), gaviotas (Larus argentatus) (Jansson et al, 2018)y ballenas de pico de Stejneger (Mesoplodon stejnegeri) (Nakagun et al, 2019;Nakagun et al, 2020), entre otros.…”

Acute phase proteins in wildlife and their domesticated relatives

“…Apart from amyloid deposition in different organs, the concentration of serum SAA increased approximately 1000-fold in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) (11). Cases of amyloidosis have also been described in red foxs (Vulpes vulpes) (58) and island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) (28).…”

Systemic Amyloid A Amyloidosis in Stejneger’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon stejnegeri)

“…11 Furthermore, AA amyloidosis is confirmed by amino acid sequencing in 69 island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) 9 and 2 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). 25 While many of the wildlife cases are considered sporadic occurrences, the island foxes and beech martens are especially prone to developing this condition at the species/subpopulation level, with a prevalence of about 34% and 10%, respectively, posing a potential risk to recovery and survival in some populations. 9,19 The purpose of this study was to document the features of systemic amyloidosis in Stejneger's beaked whales through a retrospective analysis of an extensive case series by investigating the prevalence of this disease and its organ distribution, analyzing the responsible protein, and identifying possible risk factors.…”