Synthesis of Collagen by Smooth Muscle in the Hypertrophic Intestine

During hypertrophy of the small intestine of the guinea-pig at the oral side of an experimental stenosis, the individual intestinal segments do not increase in length but undergo a remarkable increase in weight (up to 7 times that of control segments). Concomitantly an increase in collagen content is found; this is usually larger than the increase in weight, and the concentration of collagen is therefore also increased. This effect is more noticeable in the muscle coat than in the wall as a whole. It is suggested, on the basis of histological observations, that some of this collagen is synthesized by smooth muscle cells.