elastin
Last updated 22 Mar 2022
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The ELN gene provides instructions for making a protein called tropoelastin. Multiple copies of the tropoelastin protein attach to one another and are processed to form a mature protein called elastin. Elastin is the major component of elastic fibers, which are a major component of the tissue that supports the body's joints and organs (connective tissue). Elastic fibers are found in the intricate lattice that forms in the spaces between cells (the extracellular matrix). They can be stretched and then snap back into place, which is how they provide resilience and flexibility to organs and tissues such as the heart, skin, lungs, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Normal function
The ELN gene provides instructions for making a protein called tropoelastin. Multiple copies of the tropoelastin protein attach to one another and are processed to form a mature protein called elastin. Elastin is the major component of elastic fibers, which are a major component of the tissue that supports the body's joints and organs (connective tissue). Elastic fibers are found in the intricate lattice that forms in the spaces between cells (the extracellular matrix). They can be stretched and then snap back into place, which is how they provide resilience and flexibility to organs and tissues such as the heart, skin, lungs, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Conditions referring to this gene or chromosome
Other names
elastin
ELN_HUMAN
tropoelastin
Further reading and references
- elastin; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Brooke BS, Bayes-Genis A, Li DY. New insights into elastin and vascular disease. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2003 Jul;13(5):176-81. doi: 10.1016/s1050-1738(03)00065-3.
- Callewaert B, Renard M, Hucthagowder V, Albrecht B, Hausser I, Blair E, Dias C, Albino A, Wachi H, Sato F, Mecham RP, Loeys B, Coucke PJ, De Paepe A, Urban Z. New insights into the pathogenesis of autosomal-dominant cutis laxa with report of five ELN mutations. Hum Mutat. 2011 Apr;32(4):445-55. doi: 10.1002/humu.21462. Epub 2011 Mar 1.
- Curran ME, Atkinson DL, Ewart AK, Morris CA, Leppert MF, Keating MT. The elastin gene is disrupted by a translocation associated with supravalvular aortic stenosis. Cell. 1993 Apr 9;73(1):159-68. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90168-p.
- Duque Lasio ML, Kozel BA. Elastin-driven genetic diseases. Matrix Biol. 2018 Oct;71-72:144-160. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2018.02.021. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
- Graul-Neumann LM, Hausser I, Essayie M, Rauch A, Kraus C. Highly variable cutis laxa resulting from a dominant splicing mutation of the elastin gene. Am J Med Genet A. 2008 Apr 15;146A(8):977-83. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.32242.
- Kozel BA, Barak B, Kim CA, Mervis CB, Osborne LR, Porter M, Pober BR. Williams syndrome. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021 Jun 17;7(1):42. doi: 10.1038/s41572-021-00276-z.
- Morris CA, Mervis CB, Paciorkowski AP, Abdul-Rahman O, Dugan SL, Rope AF, Bader P, Hendon LG, Velleman SL, Klein-Tasman BP, Osborne LR. 7q11.23 Duplication syndrome: Physical characteristics and natural history. Am J Med Genet A. 2015 Dec;167A(12):2916-35. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.37340. Epub 2015 Sep 3.
- Morris CA. Williams Syndrome. 1999 Apr 9 [updated 2023 Apr 13]. In: Adam MP, Bick S, Mirzaa GM, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2026. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1249/
- Park S, Seo EJ, Yoo HW, Kim Y. Novel mutations in the human elastin gene (ELN) causing isolated supravalvular aortic stenosis. Int J Mol Med. 2006 Aug;18(2):329-32.
- Parrott A, James J, Goldenberg P, Hinton RB, Miller E, Shikany A, Aylsworth AS, Kaiser-Rogers K, Ferns SJ, Lalani SR, Ware SM. Aortopathy in the 7q11.23 microduplication syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2015 Feb;167A(2):363-70. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.36859. Epub 2014 Nov 26.
- Rodriguez-Revenga L, Badenas C, Carrio A, Mila M. Elastin mutation screening in a group of patients affected by vascular abnormalities. Pediatr Cardiol. 2005 Nov-Dec;26(6):827-31. doi: 10.1007/s00246-005-0885-8.
- Rodriguez-Revenga L, Iranzo P, Badenas C, Puig S, Carrio A, Mila M. A novel elastin gene mutation resulting in an autosomal dominant form of cutis laxa. Arch Dermatol. 2004 Sep;140(9):1135-9. doi: 10.1001/archderm.140.9.1135.
- Szabo Z, Crepeau MW, Mitchell AL, Stephan MJ, Puntel RA, Yin Loke K, Kirk RC, Urban Z. Aortic aneurysmal disease and cutis laxa caused by defects in the elastin gene. J Med Genet. 2006 Mar;43(3):255-8. doi: 10.1136/jmg.2005.034157. Epub 2005 Aug 5.
- Tassabehji M. Williams-Beuren syndrome: a challenge for genotype-phenotype correlations. Hum Mol Genet. 2003 Oct 15;12 Spec No 2:R229-37. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddg299. Epub 2003 Sep 2.
- Urban Z, Riazi S, Seidl TL, Katahira J, Smoot LB, Chitayat D, Boyd CD, Hinek A. Connection between elastin haploinsufficiency and increased cell proliferation in patients with supravalvular aortic stenosis and Williams-Beuren syndrome. Am J Hum Genet. 2002 Jul;71(1):30-44. doi: 10.1086/341035. Epub 2002 May 6.
- Urban Z, Zhang J, Davis EC, Maeda GK, Kumar A, Stalker H, Belmont JW, Boyd CD, Wallace MR. Supravalvular aortic stenosis: genetic and molecular dissection of a complex mutation in the elastin gene. Hum Genet. 2001 Nov;109(5):512-20. doi: 10.1007/s00439-001-0608-z. Epub 2001 Oct 13.
- Zarate YA, Lepard T, Sellars E, Kaylor JA, Alfaro MP, Sailey C, Schaefer GB, Collins RT 2nd. Cardiovascular and genitourinary anomalies in patients with duplications within the Williams syndrome critical region: phenotypic expansion and review of the literature. Am J Med Genet A. 2014 Aug;164A(8):1998-2002. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.36601. Epub 2014 May 20.
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