Microarray technology and gene expression analysis for the study of angiogenesis

Angiogenesis plays a major role in multiple disease processes including cancer, and new agents that modulate angiogenesis are rapidly entering clinical trials. The understanding of the biological mechanisms and downstream effects for many of these agents is poorly understood. It is therefore important that methods evolve to understand how an agent regulates angiogenesis, in order to promote a higher percentage of successful drug candidates. With the emergence of microarray technology for the evaluation of gene expression, researchers have a powerful tool for dissecting the biological mechanisms of angiogenesis. However, huge data sets and complex statistics pose a hurdle for the investigator to obtain useful and meaningful data. To eliminate problems in data analysis, proper design and planning prior to performing a microarray experiment is crucial to making valid conclusions. This review will discuss the critical factors in designing, performing and analysing microarray experiments, and the utility of various models of angiogenesis for microarray analysis.