Although elastin was first identified and purifled in 1840, relatively few, major advances to determine its structure and function occurred between then and 1970. This was pointed out by Carl Franzblau in his recent review (1). This sad state of affairs does not detract, however, from the importance of contributions made during the last 50 years; many of these are referred to in the various chapters that comprise this monograph. I would be remiss not to emphasize the pioneering work of S. M. Partridge, who, in 1955, reported on a technique to obtain virtually pure elastin. It was, indeed, a privilege to have the participation of Dr. Partridge in the First International Conference on Elastin, the proceedings of which constitute this volume. In 1974, the Division of Lung Diseases of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute initiated a targeted research program on "Isolation and Purification of Lung Elastin". It was an asset to the program that it attracted eminent scientists who, in effect, stimulated a new wave of interest and activity in this neglected area of research. This resurgence of interest may have been due to the challenge of working with a tissue that presented difficulties which had in the past discour­ aged investigators. It soon became apparent that the research program initiated by the Division of Lung Diseases was attracting much interest and that many significant contributions would result from it.

Table of Contents:
Section I Morphology of Elastin and Elastic Tissue.- The Morphogenesis of Elastic Fibers.- The Elastic System Fibers.- Ultrastructural Studies of Developing Pulmonary Alveolar Septal Elastin.- Ultrastructural Changes of Elastic Tissue in Hamster Lung During Elastase-Emphysema.- Elastic Tissue Histochemistry.- Conformation of Aortic Elastin Revealed by Scanning Electronmicroscopy of Dissected Surfaces.- Scanning Electron Microscopy of Purified Elastin With and Without Enzymatic Digestion.- The Ultrastructure and Mechanics of Elastic Ligaments.- Recent Observations on the Structure and Composition of Elastin.- Ultrastructure of Elastin Coacervates.- General Discussion on Morphology of Elastin and Elastic Tissue.- Section II Turnover and Elastolysis in Elastic Tissue.- Elastase-Like Enzymes in Aortas and Human Breast Carcinomas: Quantitative Variations with Age and Pathology.- Chymotrypsinogen D, A New Zymogen from Porcine Pancreas with Proelastolytic Activity.- Photolysis of Desmosine and Isodesmosine by Ultraviolet Light.- Factors Affecting the Proteolytic Degradation of Elastin.- Proteolysis of Tropoelastin.- Elastin Degradation in Human and Experimental Emphysema.- The Fate of Intratracheal 14C-Guanidinated Pancreatic Elastase in Hamster Lung.- Comparison of the Elastolytic Effects of Human Leukocyte Elastase and Porcine Pancreatic Elastase.- General Discussion on Turnover and Elastolysis.- Section III Chemical Structure of Elastin.- The Isolation and Amino Acid Sequence of Some Thrombin Produced Porcine Tropoelastin Peptides.- Primary Structure of Porcine Tropoelastin.- Some Kinetic Aspects of Crosslink Biosynthesis.- Evolution of Elastin Structure.- Role of Crosslinking in Fiber Formation.- Desmosine Peptides: Amino Acid Sequences and the Role of These Sequences in Crosslink Formation.- Crosslinking Profiles of Elastin from Anatomically Defined Regions of the Lung.- A High Molecular Weight Species of Soluble Elastin-Proelastin.- Section IV Elastin Biosynthesis and Metabolism.- Studies on the Major Fucosylated Glycoprotein Released into the Medium by Cultured Human Skin Fibroblasts.- Studies of the Biosynthesis of a Soluble Precursor of Elastin.- The Biosynthesis of Elastin by an Aortic Medial Cell Culture.- An Insoluble Intermediate in the Biosynthesis of Elastin and Its Relationship to Tropoelastin.- Detection and Estimation of Newly Synthesized Soluble Elflstin Using a Hydroxyproline Label.- Is Newly-Secreted Elastin Cleaved to a Smaller Molecule Before Being Incorporated into Crosslinked Elastin Fibers?.- Some Investigations of Elastin Biosynthesis in vitro Using an Immunoprecipitant.- Arterial Elastin Synthesis in the Growing Chick.- Hypertension in Weanling Rabbits.- Studies on the Action of Lysyl Oxidase on Soluble Elastin.- The Existence of Inhibited Lysyl Oxidase and the Presence of Multiple Forms.- Studies on Lysyl Oxidase of Bovine Ligamentum Nuchae and Bovine Aorta.- A Critical Role for Copper in Aortic Elastin Structure and Synthesis.- Section V Lung Workshop.- Isolation of Lung Alveolar Walls.- Some Observations on Tissue Sampling Lessons from the Arterial Wall.- Quantitative NH2 Terminal Evaluation of Elastin as a Measure of Polypeptide Integrit.- The Kinetics of Elastolysls as a Probe of Elastin.- Section VI Physical Chemistry of Elastin.- The Elasticity in the Presence of Diluents.- The Role of Hydrophobic Interactions in theSwelling of Elastin.- The Molecular Conformation of Elastin as Derived from Mechanical Investigations.- Calorimetric Studies of Elastin Solvation.- A 13C Magnetic Resonance Study of Embryonic Chick Aorta.- Nuclear Spin Relaxation Studies of Elastin, II. Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Stretching and Solvent Composition on Proton Transverse Relaxation.- X-Ray Analysis of Enzymically Purified Elastin from Bovine Ligamentum Nuchae.- On the Conformation, Coacervation and Function of Polymeric Models of Elastin.- The Coacervate-Sol Transition Observed with ?-Elastin and Its N-Formyl O-Methyl Derivative.- General Discussion on Coacervation.- Evidence that Tropoelastin Exists as a Random Coil.- Section VII Molecular Models for Elastin Structure and Function.- General Discussion.- Participants.