The human lung contains large quantities of collagen and elastin, proteins that allow for tissue flexibility. "Aspergillus fumigatus" produces and secretes elastases, proteases that cleave elastin in order to break down these macromolecular polymers for uptake. A significant correlation between the amount of elastase production and tissue invasion was first discovered in 1984. Clinical isolates have also been found to have greater elastase activity than environmental strains of "A. fumigatus". A number of elastases have been characterized, including those from the serine protease, aspartic protease, and metalloprotease families. Yet, the large redundancy of these elastases has hindered the identification of specific effects on virulence.