Exploring in vitro angiogenesis by image analysis and mathematical modeling

Angiogenesis is an important area of research due to its involvement in various physiological and pathological conditions. In the most extensively used assay that allows the study of the endothelial cells (EC) intrinsic ability to self-organize to form vascular-like patterns in vitro, EC are cultured on Matrigel. This assay is a reliable tool to identify substances with potential anti- or pro-angiogenic properties. We have proposed a computer-assisted image-analysis method to quantitatively characterize the pattern formed by EC cultured on Matrigel. This method allows to establish several parameters, such as dimensional, topological and fractal features, of the capillary-like network and was proven useful in pharmacological trials and in studies focused on the identification of endogenous factors involved in the modulation of the angiogenic process. In the present paper, a description of the morphometric and modeling methods used will be provided, together with examples of their application.