MOBILIZATION OF CAPILLARY ENDOTHELIUM INVITRO INDUCED BY EFFECTORS OF ANGIOGENESIS INVIVO

Abstract

An assay to measure endothelial cell mobilization on a gelatin substratum has been developed. Utilization of the gelatin-agarose and Boyden chamber assays established that: fragments or extracts of corneas treated with several effectors of angiogenesis in vivo acquired the capacity to mobilize the capillary endothelium in vitro; this mobilization was selective for the capillary endothelium; endothelium from aorta and fibroblasts from human skin or rabbit cornea were unresponsive; and among the effectors of angiogenesis utilized alone; i.e., without the intermediary action of the cornea, none were able to mobilize the capillary endothelium in vitro, except for teh heparin-Cu complex. The data are interpreted to indicate that new formation of capillaries in vivo is the end result of a cascade of events which heparin and Cu are important components. [New formation of vessels, particularly capillaries, is indispensable to sustain tumor growth.].