Amyloidosis is a term referred to a group of diseases caused by the abnormal deposition of insoluble proteins (amyloid) in different target organs. Amyloidosis affects two main cat breeds where a familial form was noticed: Siamese/Oriental and Abyssinian/Somali. Recently the proponents identified six amyloidosis associated genetic variants and the proteins present in the renal deposits in the Abyssinians by new “omics” approaches. Through the same genetic study, it was possible to demonstrate that those mutations were not shared by Siamese/Oriental cats. For this reason, the research of exclusive Siamese/Oriental related variants was initiated, following the same steps of the Abyssinian study. Indeed, through the 99 Lives project, it was possible to compare the whole genome sequences of two affected Siamese to other 113 cat sequences and to identify a new set of potentially related variants. The proponents have already collected the number of affected and healthy Siamese/Oriental necessary to genotype and to look for the variants associated to the disease. The investigators also aim to investigate the protein differentially present in the tissues of five affected/five healthy Siamese/Oriental to compare them to those found in the Abyssinians. They also want to analyze in the Abyssinian kidney some molecules that differentially modulate the protein synthesis (miRNAs) in affected/healthy to integrate the information on the genes and the proteins they already have and get a better overview of the disease mechanisms. Amyloidosis is a serious concern for the breeders and these studies could represent a very good starting point to solve this problem.
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