page_title: Desmosine
section_title: Bonding
hierarchical_section_title: Desmosine / Bonding
caption_attribution_description: English: Desmosine bonding in alanine rich areas, which allow for enzymes to bond and create the unique double crosslink that sets Desmosine apart.
context_page_description: Desmosine is an amino acid found uniquely in elastin, a protein found in connective tissue such as skin, lungs, and elastic arteries.
  Desmosine is a component of elastin and cross links with its isomer, isodesmosine, giving elasticity to the tissue. Detection of desmosine in urine, plasma or sputum samples can be a marker for elastin breakdown due to high elastase activity related to certain diseases.
context_section_description: Some models of bonding for desmosines, created through the study of bovine ligament elastin, suggest a combination of desmosine and secondary cross-linking to bind together  peptide chains. This model has desmosine bonding near an alanine on the peptide chain, then to 3 other amino acids on the 2 peptide chains, despite being able to bond to up to 4 chains. It has been suggested that the secondary cross-linking occurs with either desmosine or lysinonorleucine, which maintains an alpha helix conformation in alanine rich sections on peptides.
  Both isodesmosine and desmosine can have similar bonding sites in elastin, though it rarely shown this way in nature. They more often will appear in close proximity to each other on the peptide chain.
caption: Desmosine bonding in alanine rich areas, which allow for enzymes to bond and create the unique double crosslink that sets desmosine apart.
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