Description
Neutrophil elastase, also called Elane, is a serine protease of neutrophil and monocyte granules. Its key physiologic role is in innate host defense, but it can also participate in tissue remodeling and possesses secretagogue actions important to local inflammatory responses. Elastases form a subfamily of serine proteases that hydrolyze many proteins in addition to elastin. Humans have six elastase genes which encode structurally similar proteins. The encoded preproprotein is proteolytically processed to generate the active protease. Following activation, this protease hydrolyzes proteins within specialized neutrophil lysosomes, called azurophil granules, as well as proteins of the extracellular matrix. This protein also degrades the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of E. coli as well as the virulence factors of such bacteria as Shigella, Salmonella and Yersinia. Mutations in this gene are associated with cyclic neutropenia and severe congenital neutropenia (SCN). This gene is present in a gene cluster on chromosome 19