Lack of amyloidosis and renal disease in A strain mice

Amyloid deposition in two sublines of the A strain mouse, a reputedly reliable murine model of spontaneous amyloidosis, was reevaluated using combined green polarization birefringence after Congo red staining and a fibrillar ultrastructure for amyloid identification. Both sublines were found to be devoid of amyloid at an age when the A strain mouse had been reported to have a high incidence of papillonephritis, amyloidosis, and death. This finding indicates a need for reassessment of this and other traditional models of spontaneous amyloidosis.