Background of the antigen
The serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins) compose a superfamily of proteins with a diverse set of functions, including the control of blood coagulation, complement activation, programmed cell death and development. Serpins are secreted glycoproteins that contain a stretch of peptide that mimics a true substrate for a corresponding serine protease. The monocyte/neutrophil elastase inhibitor gene, SERPINB1, belongs to the Ov-serpin family (ovalbumin-related serpins). Human SerpinB1, also designated monocyte/neutrophil elastase inhibitor (M/NEI) or leukocyte elastase inhibitor (LEI), is a cytoplasmic protein which acts as a fast-acting stoichiometric proteinase inhibitor that regulates the activity of neutrophil elastase (NE), cathepsin-G and proteinase-3. There are four homologous genes in mouse designated SerpinB1a, SerpinB1b, SerpinB1c and the pseudogene, Serpinb1-ps1. The three protein-coding genes share significant sequence identity, however SerpinB1a (also designated EIA) has been characterized as the functional ortholog of human SerpinB1.
