A review on angiogenesis and its assays

Angiogenesis or formation of new blood vessels from preexisting vasculature is a key process in some physiological conditions such as wound healing, growth, and action of female reproductive organs. Moreover, disturbance of the mechanisms of physiological angiogenesis has a role in pathogenesis of some diseases in the form of overproliferation of blood vessels such as cancers, psoriasis, arthritis, retinopathies, obesity, asthma, and atherosclerosis or impaired angiogenesis participates in diseases such as heart and brain ischemia, neurodegeneration, hypertension, osteoporosis, respiratory distress, preeclampsia, endometriosis, postpartum cardiomyopathy, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Research and study in angiogenesis provide a potential to cure a variety of diseases such as cancers or cardiovascular diseases. Thus, in recent years, several methods for evaluation of angiogenesis have been introduced and selecting the most appropriate cure is very important. In this article, first, we briefly reviewed appropriate assays to evaluate therapeutic angiogenesis (clinical manipulation of angiogenesis) and its importance during some clinical diseases and then introduced in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo assays of angiogenesis besides their benefits and disadvantages. Next, some quantitative techniques for assessing angiogenesis have been discussed.