Elastase activity and the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension

Ultrastructural assessment of the pulmonary arteries on lung biopsy tissue in children with congenital heart defects first suggested that an enzyme, having as one of its proteolytic properties the ability to degrade elastin, might be important in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. Increased elastolytic activity was present in the pulmonary arteries of experimental rats prior to the initiation of vascular changes which caused pulmonary …