a pancreatic protease that catalyzes the hydrolysis of elastin and other related proteins to polypeptides and amino acids
Word origin
[1945–50; elast(in) + -ase]This word is first recorded in the period 1945–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: RNA, fail-safe, regression analysis, shootout, synchronized swimming-ase is a suffix used in the names of enzymes. Other words that use the affix -ase include: invertase, lipase, phosphorylase, transferase, zymase
Examples of 'elastase' in a sentence
elastase
Another pancreatic enzyme, elastase, cleaves preferentially at bonds involving nonbulky, neutral amino acids.