As a marker of vessel maturation we considered the presence of a smooth muscle layer around the vascular endothelium.
Pericyte coverage of vasculature is a marker of vessel maturation, hence desmin expression may have use as a marker for microvessel maturation.
To validate the use of the FVIIIRA level in brain homogenates as a marker of vessel density, we compared FVIIIRA level with immunohistochemical measurement of vessel density in the corresponding region of white matter in the contralateral hemisphere.
The notion of dysfunctional tumour vessels is also supported by the observed tendency of positive correlation between microvascular proliferation and capillary transit time (Tc) (Table 2), which is considered a marker of vessel heterogeneity.
A clinical study by Gaya et al. [ 38] investigating the effect OXi4503 treatment on a variety of different tumors reported significant increase in vessel permeability correlated with high expression of angiopoetin 2, a marker of vessel instability [ 18].
To determine the functionality of the E2-induced reconstructed islet vasculature network, we applied in vivo staining for lectin a commonly used marker of vessel functionality [ 33] to a group of mice treated with vehicle or E2.
That this does indeed occur is supported by our finding of a positive correlation between VEGF and FVIIIRA (a marker of vessel density) in two independent autopsy cohorts (Bristol and Oxford).
In future studies, the identification of prostate cancer patients most likely to respond to anti-angiogenic therapies, either by measuring levels of immature vessels in pretreatment biopsies, or by global markers of vessel turnover such as with circulating endothelial cells or their progenitors, may be important (Georgiou et al, 2008).
Glomulin is essential for normal development of the vasculature while the lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE1) is a marker of lymph vessels and endothelial cells in mammals.
We further stained the tumour sections for CD31, a marker of blood vessels, which showed a three- to four-fold increase in tumour blood vessels in the tumours with PHD2 silenced.
