Despite its long half-life and physiological role, elastin undergoes irreversible changes (i.e elastolysis and/or calcification) impairing resilience of soft connective tissues. At present, it is still undefined: 1) to which extent elastin fibers have to be fragmented in order to increase their susceptibility to calcify; 2) which is the contribution of ionic environment on elastin mineralization; 3) why, in the same tissue area, mineralized coexist with non-mineralized fibers. The in vitro mineralization process was investigated on insoluble elastin, hydrolyzed or not-hydrolyzed, and incubated in different cell-free ionic environments. Mineral deposition is favored on hydrolyzed fibrillar structures due to exposure of multiple charged sites increasing the adsorption of Ca²⁺ that can attract phosphate and increase the local ion concentration over the point of supersaturation, representing the minimum requirement for hydroxyapatite nucleation sites. At physiological pH, the degree of elastin mineralization is influenced by hydrolysis and complexity of medium composition, since ionic species, as sodium, potassium, magnesium, in addition to calcium and phosphorus, interfere with the calcification process.

These findings broaden the knowledge on the factors controlling hydroxyapatite deposition on insoluble elastin and can also explain why, in vivo, calcified and non-calcified fibers can be observed within the same tissue.

尽管弹性蛋白具有长的半衰期和生理作用，但它会经历不可逆的变化（即弹性和/或钙化），损害软性结缔组织的弹性。目前，仍不确定：1）弹性蛋白纤维必须破碎到什么程度才能增加其钙化敏感性。2）离子环境对弹性蛋白矿化的贡献；3）为什么在同一组织区域中矿物质与非矿物质纤维共存。的体外矿化过程进行了研究上不溶性弹性蛋白，水解或不水解的，并在不同的无细胞环境中的离子一起温育。由于多个带电位点的暴露会增加Ca ²⁺的吸附，因此有利于水解原纤维结构的矿物沉积可以吸引磷酸盐并在过饱和点上增加局部离子浓度，这是对羟基磷灰石成核位点的最低要求。在生理pH下，弹性蛋白矿化的程度受水解和培养基组成复杂性的影响，因为除钙和磷外，钠，钾，镁等离子物质也会干扰钙化过程。

这些发现拓宽了控制羟基磷灰石在不溶性弹性蛋白上沉积的因素的知识，并且还可以解释为什么在同一组织内可以观察到体内钙化和非钙化纤维的原因。