The Rabbit Corneal Pocket Assay for the Study of Angiogenesis

The corneal pocket assay consists of the placement of a stimulus (purified growth factor, cell suspension, tumor tissue) into a corneal pocket in order to induce a vascular outgrowth from the limbal vessels toward the implant. This assay, with respect to the other in vivo assays, such as the chorio-allantoic membrane, has the advantage of measuring only new blood vessels, since the cornea is normally avascular. By using rabbits, additional advantages are gained like the easy manipulation of the animals and monitoring of the neovascular growth and inflammatory reaction over time. Measurement of corneal angiogenesis is useful to quantify the effects of angiogenic stimuli and to evaluate the efficacy of potential inhibitors of neovascularization following local delivery or systemic treatment.