“…Following its purification and characterization by Morihara ef ai (1965), Pseudomonas elastase has been studied for both its proteolytic and elastolytic properties. Proteolytic effects of elastase include cleavage of immunoglobulln G proteins (Doring et ai, 1981), inactivation of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (Morihara ef ai, 1979), destruction of complement factors (Schultz and Miller, 1974), cleavage of human Received 6 August, 1991: revised 10 January, 1992accepted 16 January, 1991, 'Forcorrespondence, Tel, (614) 292 3761; Fax (614) 292 1538, type tl and IV collagens (Heck et ai. 1986b), and inactivation of human airway lysozyme (Jacquot ef ai.…”