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The Corneal Pocket Assay

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Vascular Morphogenesis

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

Abstract

The cornea in most species is physiologically avascular, and thus this assay allows the measurement of newly formed vessels. The continuous monitoring of neovascular growth in the same animal allows the evaluation of drugs acting as suppressors or stimulators of angiogenesis. Under anesthesia a micropocket is produced in the cornea thickness and the angiogenesis stimulus (tumor tissue, cell suspension, growth factor) is placed into the pocket in order to induce vascular outgrowth from the limbal capillaries. Neovascular development and progression can be modified by the presence of locally released or applied inhibitory factors or by systemic treatments. In this chapter the experimental details of the avascular cornea assay, the technical challenges, and advantages and disadvantages in different species are discussed. Protocols for local drug treatment and tissue sampling for histology and pharmacokinetic profile are reported.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Italian Ministry of University (MIUR), the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) to M.Z. and Istituto Toscano Tumori (ITT) to L.M.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Marina Ziche M.D. & Lucia Morbidelli

Authors
  1. Marina Ziche M.D.
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  2. Lucia Morbidelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marina Ziche M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Domenico Ribatti

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Ziche, M., Morbidelli, L. (2015). The Corneal Pocket Assay. 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_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1462-3_2

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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

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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