FIG. 2.

Microvessel outgrowth in mouse aortic rings. Angiogenesis occurs when endothelial cells sprout from pre-existing vessels to form new structures. For these experiments, mouse thoracic aorta was sectioned, placed onto growth factor reduced matrigel, and incubated in media containing normal saline or VEGF as a positive control. Sprouting from rings was analyzed daily, and on the seventh day photographed and outgrowth area quantitated by image analysis. In (a), a representative image of an aortic ring without plasma treatment is shown. Aortic ring cultured in VEGF-A supplemented media is shown in (b). Scale bar: 200 μm.