Potential of elastin and collagen as initiators of in vivo calcification.

The osseous repair response of the guinea pig to purified bovine elastin from ligamentum nuchae and decalcified rat femur collagen was studied by implantation of these materials into an extraction socket. A nylon mesh tube was used to carry the respective implant materials to place, and in one group of animals only the nylon tube was implanted, thereby serving as a control for the study. Neither the collagen or elastin matrix appeared to elicit an immune rejection response from the host animal. Histologic and quantitative results indicated that collagen implants accelerated the osseous repair of the extraction socket. Elastin implants, which characteristically resulted in ossicle formation, did not appear to accelerate healing, but the results were quantitatively similar to those in the experimental control animals.