Elastin

Elastin is part of connective tissue. It is an elastic protein which allows many tissues in the body to go back to their shape after stretching or contracting. Elastin helps skin return to its original position when handled. Elastin is also used in places where mechanical energy is stored.

Elastin derived from cow aorta

Elastin is important in blood vessels because it helps blood to flow. It is common in large elastic blood vessels such as the aorta. Elastin is also very important in the lungs, ligaments, the skin, the bladder, and elastic cartilage. It is present in all vertebrates above the jawless fish.^[1]

In humans, elastin is encoded by the ELN gene.^[2]

References

1. Sage EH, Gray WR (1977). "Evolution of Elastin Structure". Elastin and Elastic Tissue. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Vol. 79. pp. 291–312. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-9093-0_27. ISBN 978-1-4684-9095-4. PMID 868643.
2. Curran, Mark E. et al 1993. (1993). "The elastin gene is disrupted by a translocation associated with supravalvular aortic stenosis". Cell. 73 (1): 159–168. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(93)90168-P. PMID 8096434. S2CID 8274849. Retrieved 26 February 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)