Enhancement of amyloidosis by chenodeoxycholic acid ingestion in the hamster.

A long-term experiment was performed to test the ability of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) to induce intestinal tumors in the Syrian golden hamster. Animals were fed a CDCA-enriched diet up to 12 months, and 4 of them were sacrificed every 2 months. CDCA exhibited no carcinogenic activity. However, unexpected amyloid deposits were discovered in both treated and nontreated animals. Their incidence was significantly higher in treated (71%) than in nontreated (27%) hamsters. During CDCA administration, amyloidosis appeared as early as the second month of treatment. It involved the liver, spleen and kidneys in more than half of the animals. On the contrary, in control animals, amyloid deposits appeared later and were most frequently restricted to one organ. The intensity of the lesions also appeared to be greater in the treated group. No monoclonal components were found in either serum or urine of the amyloidotic hamsters. Such an amyloidosis-promoting effect of CDCA has never been reported.