compound introduction
Porcine pancreatic elastase has a molecular weight of 25.9 kDa, and a pH optimum of 8.5. While elastase will hydrolyze a wide variety of protein substrates, it is unique among proteases in its ability to hydrolyze native elastin, a substrate not attacked by trypsin, chymotrypsin or pepsin. Soybean trypsin inhibitor and kallikrein inhibitor suppress proteolytic but not elastolytic activity. Elastase is assayed using a method adapted from that of Feinstein et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 50, 1020 (1973) and using the more soluble substrate of Bieth et al., Biochem. Med., 11, 350 (1974).
