A protein similar to collagen that is the principal structural component of elastic fibers.
Dictionary:
e·las·tin (ĭ-lăs'tĭn) ![]() |
A protein similar to collagen that is the principal structural component of elastic fibers.
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| Chemistry Dictionary: elastin |
A fibrous protein that is the major constituent of the yellow elastic fibres of connective tissue. It is rich in glycine, alanine, proline, and other nonpolar amino acids that are cross-linked, making the protein relatively insoluble. Elastic fibres can stretch to several times their length and then return to their original size. Elastin is particularly abundant in elastic cartilage, blood-vessel walls, ligaments, and the heart.
| Food and Nutrition: elastin |
Insoluble protein in connective tissue, which is not affected by cooking; the cause of tough meat.
| Veterinary Dictionary: elastin |
A yellow scleroprotein, the essential constituent of elastic connective tissue; it is brittle when dry, but flexible and elastic when moist.
| Wikipedia: Elastin |
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Elastin
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| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | ELN |
| Entrez | 2006 |
| HUGO | 3327 |
| OMIM | 130160 |
| RefSeq | NM_000501 |
| UniProt | P15502 |
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. 7 q11.1-21.1 |
Elastin is a protein in connective tissue that is elastic and allows many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or contracting. Elastin helps skin to return to its original position when it is poked or pinched. Elastin is also an important load-bearing tissue in the bodies of mammals and used in places where mechanical energy is required to be stored.
Contents |
Elastin is primarily composed of the amino acids glycine, valine, alanine, and proline. It is a specialized protein with a molecular weight of 64 to 66 kDa, and an irregular or random coil conformation made up of 830 amino acids.
Elastin is made by linking many soluble tropoelastin protein molecules, in a reaction catalyzed by lysyl oxidase, to make a massive insoluble, durable cross-linked array. The amino acid responsible for these cross-links is lysine.
Desmosine and isodesmosine are both found in elastin.
Elastin serves an important function in arteries and is particularly abundant in large elastic blood vessels such as the aorta. Elastin is also very important in the lungs, elastic ligaments, the skin, the bladder, elastic cartilage, and the intervertebral disc above the sacroiliac. It is present in all vertebrates above the jawless fish [1].
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