Development of a human cardiac tissue-based angiogenesis model.

Background: Previous angiogenesis models use animal tissues such as the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) or the rabbit cornea. These models may not accurately reflect the mechanisms responsible for human angiogenesis.

Materials And Methods: We hypothesized that fragments of human myocardial tissue would develop an angiogenic response from the cut edges of vessels contained within the tissue.

Development of a novel in vitro human tissue-based angiogenesis assay to evaluate the effect of antiangiogenic drugs.

Objective: To describe a novel in vitro human tissue-based angiogenic model that can predict an individual tumor's response to antiangiogenic drugs.

Summary Background Data: A number of in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis assays exist, but they do not provide potentially useful information for the treatment of an individual patient. Clonogenic assays have been used to evaluate the response of an individual's tumor to antineoplastic agents, but these tumor fragments are cultured in an environment that does not lead to neovessel growth.

Suppression of tumorigenicity in neuroblastoma cells by upregulation of human vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor type 1.

We hypothesize that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) promotes neural crest differentiation through VIP receptor type I (VPAC1). In order to test this hypothesis, SKNSH neuroblastoma cells were stably transfected with VPAC1 and receptor expression was verified by real-time RT-PCR. Overexpression of VPAC1 in SKNSH cells resulted in upregulation of endogenous retinoic acid receptor expression for both RARalpha and RXRalpha with no change in expression of RARbeta.