Preservative solution for freeze-storage of surgically excised human colon to enable study of smooth muscle function in vitro.

We have compared the reactivity to carbachol and high potassium of circular smooth muscle isolated from segments of human colon which was freeze-stored in different preservative solutions for more than one month following surgical resection. Concentration-dependent contractions in response to carbachol were reduced in terms of both their sensitivity (pEC50) and reactivity (Emax), depending on the preservative solutions used. Similar reduction of reactivity to 100 mM KCl was also observed. The best responsiveness was shown when the tissue was freeze-stored in SFM101. It is concluded that the freeze-storage of surgically excised human colon in SFM101 or phosphate buffer solution for more than one month provided the best preservation of smooth muscle function for in vitro pharmacological examination.