Noninvasive and quantitative assessment of in vivo angiogenesis using RGD-based fluorescence imaging of subcutaneous sponges.

PURPOSE

There is a real need to adapt simple and reproducible imaging methodologies to evaluate noninvasively pro- and antiangiogenic activities of new treatments in a physiological context in mice.

PROCEDURE

The angiogenic response to fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) in a model of subcutaneously implanted cellulose sponges was measured in parallel after an intravenous injection of a fluorescent αvβ3 integrin-targeting molecule (Angiolone(TM)) and an fluorescence diffuse optical tomography optical imaging system and by measuring the hemoglobin content in the sponges.

RESULTS

Optical measurements of angiogenesis correlated perfectly with the values obtained using hemoglobin quantification. This assay can be used to follow the activity of a pro- or antiangiogenic treatment like demonstrated after FGF-2 or angiostatin, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The perfectly controlled quality of cellulose sponges combined to this noninvasive optical method allow rapid, accurate, and reproducible measurements of angiogenic activities in vivo at the preclinical level.