Angiogenesis assays using chick chorioallantoic membrane.

The study of the angiogenic process and the search for novel therapeutic agents to inhibit, or stimulate, angiogenesis has employed a wide range of in vivo 'angiogenesis' assays (reviewed in 1-3). These differ greatly in their difficulty, quantitative nature, rapidity, and cost. The classical in vivo models include the rabbit ear chamber, hamster cheek pouch, dorsal skin chamber, dorsal skin and air-sac model, anterior chamber/iris and avascular corneal pocket assay, and the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. More recent methods involve the implantation of preloaded Matrigel or alginate plugs, or collagen or poly vinyl sponges (1). Largely owing to its simplicity and low cost, the CAM is the most widely used in vivo model for the study of both angiogenesis and antiangiogenesis (1,4).