Enzymatic dissociation of ovarian and uterine tissues

A method is described for the preparation of high yields of viable, dissociated cells from porcine theca interna and corpus luteum and from human and bovine endometrium. The tissues were dissociated by incubation at 37 degrees C in a mixture of 0.5% collagenase, 0.1% hyaluronidase and 0.1% pronase in balanced salt solution containing 1% chicken serum. This procedure consistently provided high yields of structurally and metabolically intact dispersed cells after a digestion period of 60 min. The procedure is superior to methods previously reported in the literature.