Do neutrophils play a major role in elastin turnover of normal tissues?
Urinary desmosine excretion (a quantitative measure of endogenous elastin breakdown) was monitored in 2 patients with cyclic neutropenia. In the first one, measurements were carried out over 2 complete 25-day cycles (nonconsecutive), whereas in the second, measurements were limited to selected urine specimens obtained on days when circulating neutrophils were at undetectable levels. Desmosine excretion remained in the normal range in both patients during neutropenic episodes, suggesting that endogenous elastin breakdown was not dependent on neutrophil-mediated elastinolysis. Thus, in alpha 1-antitrypsin-sufficient subjects, any lung elastin turnover caused by neutrophils is probably intermittent and limited to times and foci marked by acute inflammatory changes in the lung.
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003895:Desmosine / Q000652:urine; D004549:Elastin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000378:metabolism; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000502:physiology*
D003895:Desmosine; D004549:Elastin