Traditional animal models to quantify the degree of blood vessel formation are being replaced by cell culture assays that are easier to set up, statistically reliable and can be automated in a drug screening laboratory. These assays rely on the endothelial cells’ ability to form distinct blood-vessel-like tubules in an extracellular matrix where they can subsequently be visualized by fluorescence microscopy.

Protocol: An Image-Based Assay of Endothelial Cell Tube Formation as a Model of Angiogenesis