the second layer can be of identical nature to the cells of the first layer to obtain a thicker tissue or of different origin such as fibroblasts to create a two cell type living organ equivalent in order for example to study cell cell interactions to study smooth muscle cell contraction the tubular tissue made of smooth muscle cells is slid off its tubular support and cut in annular sections of desired width alternatively the annular sections may be cut before the tubular tissue is slid off the support such an annular section can be mounted on an isometric force transducer whilst in an organ culture bath and submitted to a basal tension stimulations can be carried on by injecting vasoactive substances in the bath and recording the contractile response through the transducer output this technique is well established and this invention can be a substitute for animal blood vessels which are normally used as contractile tissue the following example describes one method for preparing a contractile tubular tissue made of smooth muscle cells according to the present invention it is not intended to limit the scope of this invention to one particular shape cell origin or age time frame component concentration or culture condition one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that various modifications can be made to the method without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention typically 750 000 viable sub cultured human smooth muscle cells passages 3 7 are seeded in a standard 75 cm 2 culture dish for a final seeding density of 10 4.