Serum amyloid A in airway cells

Abstract

Serum amyloid A is an acute phase protein whose hepatic and extrahepatic synthesis is greatly augmented following an acute phase response (APR). There are four SAA genes responsible for encoding SAA proteins in humans. SAA1 and SAA2, are allelic, highly homologous to each other, and are responsible for encoding acute phase SAA (A-SAA) which increases from baseline levels up to a thousand-fold following an inflammatory stimulus. SAA3 is considered a pseudogene in humans. SAA4 is responsible for the regulation of synthesis of constitutive SAA (C-SAA) which is not augmented following an APR.