ENHANCEMENT OF THE RESPONSIVENESS OF VAS-DEFERENS AND ILEUM SMOOTH-MUSCLE IN SENSITIZED GUINEA PIPS - IN-VITRO STUDY

Changes in the reactivity of the ileum (to histamine and barium chlori de) and vas deferens (to acetylcholine and barium chloride), isolated from actively egg albumen-sensitized guinea pigs, have been investigat ed. The study was performed on 2 guinea pig strains: the Dunkin-Hartle y strain, usually used as an airway allergic model, and the BFA strain . In actively sensitized guinea pigs of both strains, concentration-re sponse curves exhibited a significant dose-dependent upward shift comp ared to those obtained in control guinea pigs. The maximal contraction strength calculated from these curves was significantly enhanced in b oth sensitized guinea pig strains, without a change in EC(50) values. This study showed that the active antigen sensitization procedure invo lved several smooth muscle functions, and not exclusively the trachea.