Characterization of spontaneous amyloidosis of Syrian hamsters using the potassium permanganate method.

Amyloid from 16 Syrian hamsters with spontaneous age-related systemic amyloidosis retained affinity for Congo red dye after treatment with potassium permanganate. Serum electrophoresis showed a slight rise in gamma globulins without a monoclonal spike. Bence-Jones proteins were not present in the urine. There was no histological evidence of plasmacytosis. Amyloidosis could not be associated with chronic inflammation. The lack of apparent etiology of this amyloid and its resistance to potassium permanganate treatment suggests that it is a primary non-AA amyloid. This finding varies with a report suggesting that the spontaneous amyloidosis of aged Syrian hamsters is associated with the AA fibril.