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Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI108949
Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
Clinical Pathology Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
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Published February 1, 1978 - More info
Secondary amyloidosis is a complication of diseases characterized by recurrent acute inflammation. In this study, a standardized stimulus which induced fever and inflammation was given to six normal subjects (19-24 yr old) to follow the fluctuation in concentration of serum amyloid A (SAA), the precursor of the secondary amyloid fibril protein. After a single intramuscular injection of etiocholanolone (0.3 mg/kg), blood samples were drawn twice a day for 12 days for determination of SAA by solid phase radioimmunoassay. From a base line of <100 μg/ml, the SAA concentration began rising within 12 h to a maximum value at about 48 h of 1,350-1,800 μg/ml in three males and 380-900 μg/ml in three females and returned to base line by 4-5 days. The SAA response showed a similar time response to C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-documented acute phase protein which was assayed semiquantitatively by capillary tube precipitin reaction. CRP, but not SAA, showed a quantitative correlation with the amount of fever induced by etiocholanolone. One subject exhibited a second rise in SAA and CRP concentrations after acute over-indulgence with alcohol, suggesting that acute liver damage may have caused an acute phase reaction. Thus, a controlled episode of fever and inflammation produced a prompt and prolonged elevation of SAA and CRP concentrations. Unlike SAA, CRP has not been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyloidosis, although its relationship to the P component of amyloid has recently been established.