Elafin is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the PI3 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

This gene encodes an elastase

Elastase

In molecular biology, elastase is an enzyme from the class of proteases that break down proteins.- Forms and classification:There exist eight human genes for elastase:Bacterial forms: Organisms such as P...

-specific protease inhibitor

Protease inhibitor

Protease inhibitor can refer to:* Protease inhibitor : a class of medication that inhibits viral protease* Protease inhibitor : molecules that inhibit proteases...

, which contains a WAP-type four-disulfide core (WFDC) domain, and is thus a member of the WFDC domain family. Most WFDC gene members are localized to chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...

20q12-q13 in two clusters: centromeric and telomeric. This gene belongs to the centromeric cluster.

Clinical significance

Elafin has been found to have utility in serving as a biomarker for graft versus host disease of the skin.

Further reading