Supplementary material for Fukumura et al. (2001) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98 (5), 2604–2609. (10.1073/pnas.041359198)

Fig. 7. Role of T and B cells in VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Angiogenesis in VEGF (3 µg/ml) containing gels in mouse cranial window was monitored for 14 days in either immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice (C57, n = 10) or immunodeficient Rag-1 mutant mice with C57BL/6 background (Rag1, n = 8). Angiogenesis was quantified as the percentage of squares in the top nylon mesh containing at least one vessel. Angiogenesis in Rag-1 null mice was comparable to that in WT C57BL/6 mice. At 14 days after the VEGF gel implantation, functional vessel density (defined as total length of perfused vessels per unit area) and diameter of angiogenic vessels were determined by intravital microscopy. A total of 50 locations in 10 C57BL/6 mice and 25 locations in five Rag-1 null mice were determined. Vessel density in Rag-1 null mice (67.0 ± 3.7 cm/cm²) was slightly smaller than WT C57BL/6 mice (55.2 ± 5.8 cm/cm², P = 0.08), whereas vessel diameter was comparable (12.0 ± 0.3 and 11.4 ± 0.3 for C57 and Rag1, respectively). Overall angiogenesis in VEGF gel was not significantly altered by dysfunction of T and B cells.