Systemic and cardiac amyloidosis; etiology and pathogenesis

Systemic amyloidoses are rare protein misfolding and deposition disorders that lead to progressive organ failure. To date, there are 42 different proteins that are defined as ‘’amyloidogenic’’. They are composed by different precursor proteins that can promote amyloid formation, organ damage and tissue deposition. The two main categories are: acquired or hereditary forms. In addition, the deposits can be in different organs (in systemic forms) or localized. In this chapter we review the main types of systemic amyloidosis with a specific focus on amyloidogenesis and organ damage.