Isolation and identification by sequence analysis of experimentally induced guinea pig amyloid fibrils.

Amyloidosis was produced experimentally in guinea pigs by multiple casein injections. Amyloid fibrils were isolated and fractionated and a protein obtained that had an amino acid composition comparable with A protein, a unique nonimmunoglobulin constituent of secondary amyloid deposits. N-terminal sequence analysis demonstrated a sequence homologous with that of A proteins from human and monkey preparations but preceded by a 5-residue peptide which had an N-terminal histidine. A definite species specificity in A protein from human and guinea pig was identified on immunologic analysis.