Polymorphism of tissue and serum amyloid A (AA and SAA) proteins in the mouse.

Amino acid sequence studies of the amino terminal 25 residues of amyloid A (AA) protein and the serum precursor (SAA) induced with casein or LPS indicate differences in the sequence at position 6 and significant heterogeneity at several other positions in SAA. These findings suggest that SAA is a polymorphic serum protein and raise the possibility that only certain forms of SAA are processed to the tissue amyloid fibril.