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The Coculture Organotypic Assay of Angiogenesis

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Vascular Morphogenesis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1214))

Abstract

Angiogenesis is a complex process involving the interactions of endothelial cells not only with pro-angiogenic factors but also with stromal cells and stromal matrix components. Modeling this process in vitro is challenging, and many different assays have been described, each with their own particular strengths and weaknesses. The coculture assay is a long-term assay of angiogenesis that uses fibroblasts to secrete and condition a stromal matrix that more closely mimics tissue than a simple collagen gel. The assay is particularly suited to screening for angiogenic regulators and also for high-resolution imaging of endothelial cells undergoing angiogenic morphogenesis.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by project grants PG/10/014/28224 and PG/11/68/29074 from the British Heart Foundation.

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Correspondence to Harry Mellor .

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Allen, J.L., Mellor, H. (2015). The Coculture Organotypic Assay of Angiogenesis. In: Ribatti, D. (eds) Vascular Morphogenesis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1214. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1462-3_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1462-3_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1461-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1462-3

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