Fig. 15

Fig. 15

In vivo BME/Matrigel plug assay in mice. Injection of BME/Matrigel in the groin/abdomen areas of a mouse. The left image is a plug without growth factors; the right image represents a plug with an angiogenic growth factor. b, c Confocal microscopy images of whole-mount Matrigel plugs, with labeled dextran tracers. Matrigel plug angio-genesis induced by (b) FGF-2 resulted in stable vessels, with co-localization of large FITC-dextran and small TRITC-dextran within the vessels, which appear as yellow (XYZ planes). Matrigel plug angio-genesis induced by (c) VEGF resulted in highly permeable vessels, with most TRITC-dextran extravasated outside the FITC-dextran positive vessels. Images were captured using a Carl Zeiss LSM510 META or LSM 780 confocal microscope. Volocity^® software (Perkin Elmer) was used to reconstruct 3D images of the vessels from serial Z-sections