Ex Vivo Mouse Aortic Ring Angiogenesis Assay

The ex vivo aortic ring assay is one of the most widely used protocols to study sprouting angiogenesis. It is a highly adaptable method that can be utilized to investigate the effects of different growth factors, small-molecule drugs, and genetic modifications on vascular sprouting in a physiologically relevant setting. In this chapter we describe a simple and optimized protocol for investigating vascular sprouting in the mouse aortic ring model. The protocol describes the harvesting and embedding of the aortic rings in a collagen matrix, treatment of the rings with agents of interest, and the visualization and quantification of the vascular sprouts.