12.Neutrophils make an enzyme called neutrophil elastase, a protease capable of breaking down elastin, which is an extracellular matrix protein that gives elasticity and strength to lung tissues.
13.So while these little guys can help fight off infection by breaking down proteins of the bacteria, it can also go on to break down that precious elastin.
14.They're made out of the protein elastin which allows them to stretch and recoil like rubber bands; they're found in places like your skin, lungs, and blood vessel walls.
15.Nicotine causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin, while the chemicals in tobacco smoke damage collagen and elastin, fibres which give the skin its elasticity.
16.The aorta and its major branches are elastic arteries — they contain more elastin than any other blood vessel type, so they can absorb the large pressure fluctuations as blood leaves the heart.
17.Without alpha-1 antitrypsin, the opposite happens - neutrophil elastase goes unchecked, and it damages the walls of the alveoli, and without that elastin, the alveoli loses its elasticity and structural integrity.
18.Fortunately, the liver makes alpha-1 antitrypsin which gets released into the blood and sent to the lungs, where it inhibits neutrophil elastase just like it inhibits trypsin, inactivating it before it can break down the protein elastin.
19.Tissues that have elastin fibers are tissues like the arteries, skin, and lungs, and tissues that have microfibrils but no overlying layer of elastin are like tendons and the ciliary zonules that hold the eye lens in place.
20.There's a lot of ground substance in here, and the elastin fibers help it snap back into place, while the collagen helps anchor it so you can't, like, snag your skin on a zipper and watch it just fly off.