AA-amyloidosis in cats (Felis catus) housed in shelters

Ferri, F.; Ferro, S.; Porporato, F.; Callegari, C.; Guglielmetti, C.; Mazza, M.; Ferrero, M.; Crino, C.; Gallo, E.; Drigo, M.; Coppola, L. M.; Gerardi, G.; Schulte, T. P.; Ricagno, S.; Vogel, M.; Storni, F.; Bachmann, M.; Vogt, A.-C.; Caminito, S.; Mazzini, G.; Lavatelli, F.; Palladini, G.; Merlini, G.; Zini, E.

doi:10.1101/2022.05.04.490646

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.05.04.490646

AA-amyloidosis in cats (Felis catus) housed in shelters

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Abstract

Systemic AA-amyloidosis is a protein-misfolding disease that is characterized by fibril deposition of serum amyloid-A protein (SAA) in several organs in humans and many animal species. Fibril deposits originate from abnormally high serum levels of SAA during chronic inflammation. In domestic short-hair cats, AA-amyloidosis has only been anecdotally reported and is considered a rare disease. Here we report that an astonishing 57-73% of early deceased short-hair cats kept in three independent shelters suffer from amyloid deposition in the liver, spleen, or kidney. Histopathology and mass spectrometry of post-mortem extracted deposits identified SAA as the major protein source. The duration of stay in the shelters was positively associated with a histological score of AA-amyloidosis (B=0.026, CI95%=0.007-0.046; p=0.010). Presence of SAA fragments in bile secretions raises the possibility of fecal-oral transmission of the disease.

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Ferri, F., Ferro, S., Porporato, F., Callegari, C., Guglielmetti, C., Mazza, M., Ferrero, M., Crino, C., Gallo, E., Drigo, M., Coppola, L. M., Gerardi, G., Schulte, T. P., Ricagno, S., Vogel, M., Storni, F., Bachmann, M., Vogt, A.-C., Caminito, S., Mazzini, G., Lavatelli, F., Palladini, G., Merlini, G., Zini, E.. 2022-05-08. AA-amyloidosis in cats (Felis catus) housed in shelters. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.04.490646

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