a Scottish Centre for Respiratory Research , University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School , Dundee , Scotland.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2017 Oct;17(10):875-884. doi: 10.1080/14737159.2017.1374174. Epub 2017 Sep 7.
Neutrophil elastase (NE) is a 29kDa serine protease released from the azurophilic granules of neutrophils. It may be directly involved in the pathogenesis and disease progression in cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis and COPD through the degradation of airway elastin and by impairing host defence. Areas covered: Measurement of NE activity has emerged as a promising biomarker strategy in inflammatory lung disease. The authors review studies where NE activity has been linked with clinical outcomes such as lung function decline, exacerbation frequency or other cross-sectional and longitudinal markers of disease severity. In this article the evidence for NE measurement, and the strengths and weaknesses of a commercially available immunoassay which can specifically detect NE activity in human biological samples such as sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage are reviewed. Expert commentary: NE is a promising biomarker for stratifying severity disease. NE also appears to be responsive to antibiotic and other treatments, potentially therefore allowing it to be used as an indicator of treatment response in clinical trials.
中性粒细胞弹性蛋白酶（NE）是一种 29kDa 的丝氨酸蛋白酶，从嗜中性粒细胞的嗜天青颗粒中释放出来。它可能通过降解气道弹性蛋白和损害宿主防御，直接参与囊性纤维化、支气管扩张和 COPD 的发病机制和疾病进展。
NE 活性的测量已成为炎症性肺病有前途的生物标志物策略。作者综述了与临床结果（如肺功能下降、加重频率或其他疾病严重程度的横断面和纵向标志物）相关的研究，其中 NE 活性与临床结果相关联。在本文中，作者综述了 NE 测量的证据，以及一种可特异性检测人生物样本（如痰和支气管肺泡灌洗液）中 NE 活性的商业可用免疫分析法的优缺点。
NE 是一种有前途的疾病严重程度分层的生物标志物。NE 似乎也对抗生素和其他治疗有反应，因此有可能将其用作临床试验中治疗反应的指标。
