Elastin fragment-induced monocyte chemotaxis. The role of desmosines.

Elastin fragments generated by the digestion of human and bovine elastin were compared to fragments which had been treated with sodium borohydride for their ability to induce monocyte chemotaxis. No significant decrease in the number of migratory cells was observed between the two groups. Elastin fragments denatured with 8 M urea were devoid of chemotactic activity. These results support the premise that the tertiary structure of elastin fragments and not desmosine content is the most important structural determinant in the induction of elastin fragment-induced monocyte chemotaxis.