title: Mouse models to study angiogenesis in the context of cardiovascular diseases.
abstract: Pathological angiogenesis is a hallmark of various ischemic diseases (insufficient vessel growth) but also of cancer and metastasis, inflammatory diseases, blindness, psoriasis or arthritis (excessive angiogenesis). In response to ischemia (reduced blood flow and oxygen supply), new blood vessels form in order to compensate for the lack of perfusion. This natural process could protect them from the consequences of atherosclerotic diseases (myocardial angina, infarction, hindlimb arteriopathy or stroke). However, neovessel formation is altered in many patients. A better understanding of the mechanisms of functional vessel formation is a pre-requisite to improving the treatment of ischemic pathologies. To this end, it is essential to create easily accessible animal models in which vessel formation can be both manipulated and studied. In this review, we will describe different angiogenic mouse models in the context of cardiovascular diseases, either in an ischemic context (hindlimb ischemia, heart ischemia, skin model) or in a non-ischemic context (plug and eye assay, wound healing, ovarian model). We will also discuss quantitative techniques for assessing angiogenesis in these assays.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, Inserm U828, Pessac, France; Universite Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France. thierry.couffinhal@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Couffinhal
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dufourcq
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barandon
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duplaa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051379:Mice; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D012307:Risk Factors