PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M. Luisetti
AU  - S. Ma
AU  - P. Iadarola
AU  - P. J. Stone
AU  - S. Viglio
AU  - B. Casado
AU  - Y. Y. Lin
AU  - G. L. Snider
AU  - G. M. Turino
TI  - Desmosine as a biomarker of elastin degradation in COPD: current status and future directions
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00174807
DP  - 2008 Nov 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 1146--1157
VI  - 32
IP  - 5
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/32/5/1146.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/32/5/1146.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2008 Nov 01; 32
AB  - Desmosine (DES) and isodesmosine (IDES) are two unusual, tetrafunctional, pyridinium ring-containing amino acids involved in elastin cross-linking. Being amino acids unique to mature, cross-linked elastin, they are useful for discriminating peptides derived from elastin breakdown from precursor elastin peptides. According to these features, DES and IDES have been extensively discussed as potentially attractive indicators of elevated lung elastic fibre turnover and markers of the effectiveness of agents with the potential to reduce elastin breakdown. In the present manuscript, immunology-based and separation methods for the evaluation of DES and IDES are discussed, along with studies reporting increased levels of urine excretion in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with and without α1-antitrypsin deficiency. The results of the application of DES and IDES as surrogate end-points in early clinical trials in COPD are also reported. Finally, recent advances in detection techniques, including liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and high-performance capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence, are discussed. These techniques allow detection of DES and IDES at very low concentration in body fluids other than urine, such as plasma or sputum, and will help the understanding of whether DES and IDES are potentially useful in monitoring therapeutic intervention in COPD.