SERPINA1 and alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency: AATD is a monogenic condition caused by mutations in the SERPINA1 gene [2] encoding AAT, an acute phase glycoprotein and a major inhibitor of neutrophil elastase primarily synthetized in hepatocytes (by about 80%) and then released into the bloodstream, it also expressed to a lesser extent by monocytes and macrophages [3,4].