Applications
Applications
Angiogenesis
Picture from "Sphingosine 1-phosphate promotes endothelial cell barrier integrity by Edg-dependent cytoskeletal rearrangement" Garcia, 2001.
Overall, angiogenesis research starts with the monitoring of endothelial cells (barrier function, signaling, cell growth); these observations are then studied to understand their relationship to angiogenesis and tube formation. ECIS is a highly useful in vitro assay to determine endothelial cell growth and its inhibition as well as the barrier function of endothelial monolayers.
In preliminary ECIS experiments with VEGF and other growth factors and their inhibitors, results can commonly be correlated with angiogenesis inhibition in vivo. In some cases, the blocking of endothelial cell proliferation has actually been proven to encourage tube formation.
Although ECIS cannot directly follow capillary formation in tumor masses, it can monitor the effect of tumor cells upon a normal endothelial cell monolayer in vitro. Monitoring barrier function (permeability), ECIS has successful recorded extravasion of endothelial cell layers by metastatic cells and hence can be used as a tool for testing anti-cancer therapies in vitro.