porcine pancreas elastase

**Porcine pancreas elastase** is a **serine protease enzyme** purified from pig pancreas, belonging to the chymotrypsin family. It hydrolyzes proteins by cleaving peptide bonds at the carboxyl side of small hydrophobic amino acids (including Ile, Gly, Ala, Ser, Val, and Leu), as well as amides and esters. It is a **single polypeptide chain of 240 amino acids** and contains four disulfide bridges. The enzyme is synthesized as an inactive zymogen and activated by proteolysis. Porcine pancreas elastase is widely used as a **biochemical reagent (in research and diagnostics)** and as a model enzyme for human leukocyte elastase in drug development. It is not itself a marketed pharmaceutical nor used directly as a therapeutic agent. Its main applications include induction of abdominal aortic aneurysm in animal models, studies on elastase inhibitors, and as a reference in pancreatic enzyme testing[1][3][4][5][7].

Other names

elastase from porcine pancreaspancreatic elastase (porcine)elastase hog pancreaspancreatopeptidase E