Serum Amyloid A Protein, SAA

Serum amyloid A protein (SAA) has been considered to play an important role for the modification of pathophysiolgical situation in inflammatory diseases and the developments of the complications. Its participation on the pathogeneses has been elucidated by the basic and clinical studies on the tissue amyloid deposit and SAA. Since the causes of individual inflammatory reactions and the pathogeneses are very variable and complicated, the causes and chemical compositions of amyloid deposits are not always identical. It is considered that the amyloid formation is a defence mechanism against the inflammatory stimuli, but it causes often diverse effects on various organs. Thereafter, it is necessary to know the sources of the inflammatory reactions and the secondary effects on various metabolism to understand the regulation of the amyloid formation.