Organ culture of young rat vas deferens as an in vitro model for the study of denervation supersensitivity.

To investigate whether organ culture is a suitable in vitro model for studying the mechanisms of denervation-induced supersensitivity, we cultured 1-week-old rat vas deferens for 3 days with a basic applied tension of 20 mg. Cultured muscles showed supersensitivity to norepinephrine and methacholine with concomitant elevation of the maximal response. To compare these changes with those caused by denervation, young rats were chemically denervated by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine, and consequent sensitivity changes were investigated. Denervated muscles showed non-specific supersensitivity to norepinephrine and methacholine but the maximal response did not increase. When these denervated muscles were organ-cultured, they showed no or only a slight increase in sensitivity to norepinephrine and methacholine, but the maximal response increased greatly. These observations led to the suggestion that the increase in sensitivity may be mediated through the same mechanisms as those for denervation supersensitivity. The elevation of the maximal response was suggested to be produced by the improvement of cell-to-cell conduction as well as some other unknown factor(s) probably specific to organ culture. Thus, it was concluded that organ-cultured 1-week-old rat vas deferens is a useful model to study the mechanisms of denervation supersensitivity.