RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Gene expression profiling and functional analysis of angiogenic markers in murine collagen-induced arthritis Yvonne Raatz1,2*, Saleh Ibrahim3, Marc Feldmann1,4 and Ewa M Paleolog1,4 Introduction: Dysregulated angiogenesis is implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To provide a more profound understanding of arthritis-associated angiogenesis, we evaluated the expression of angiogenesis-modulating genes at onset, peak and declining phases of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), a well-established mouse model for RA. Methods: CIA was induced in DBA/1 mice with type II collagen. Functional capillary density in synovial tissue o