Elasticity is a key requirement for extensible tissues in vertebrates as they undergo many millions of repetitive stretching–recovery cycles.¹  Such tissues include skin, lungs, blood vessels, heart valves and ligaments, amongst others.²  This elasticity is provided by elastic fibers created in a process called elastogenesis,^3–5  which mainly occurs during the first few years of life. These elastic fibers comprise elastin, a protein that becomes insoluble due to its high degree of crosslinking, thus making it extremely durable and metabolically stable throughout the host's life.⁶  Elastin is formed by the union and crosslinking of soluble monomers called...