Heterogeneous contractile responses of single smooth muscle cells from guinea pig ileum

Cells of guinea pig ileal longitudinal muscle layer were dispersed by treating the minced tissue with highly purified collagenase and papain. The cells were spindle shaped, 100 to 150 microns long and 5 to 10 microns wide. Contractility of the dispersed cells was determined by "cell adhesion method" resulting that the cells were contracted by carbachol in a dose-dependent manner, but sensitivity and degree of the contraction were different in each cell. Binding assay method resulted that Kd values did not change by treatment with collagenase and papain. These results indicate that contractility of each cell in the tissue is originally different and dispersion of the cells does not affect on the cell contractility.