scholarly journals Multiple roles of lymphatic vessels in peripheral lymph node development

2018 ◽  
Vol 215 (11) ◽  
pp. 2760-2777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Bovay ◽  
Amélie Sabine ◽  
Borja Prat-Luri ◽  
Sudong Kim ◽  
Kyungmin Son ◽  
...  

The mammalian lymphatic system consists of strategically located lymph nodes (LNs) embedded into a lymphatic vascular network. Mechanisms underlying development of this highly organized system are not fully understood. Using high-resolution imaging, we show that lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells initially transmigrate from veins at LN development sites using gaps in venous mural coverage. This process is independent of lymphatic vasculature, but lymphatic vessels are indispensable for the transport of LTi cells that egress from blood capillaries elsewhere and serve as an essential LN expansion reservoir. At later stages, lymphatic collecting vessels ensure efficient LTi cell transport and formation of the LN capsule and subcapsular sinus. Perinodal lymphatics also promote local interstitial flow, which cooperates with lymphotoxin-β signaling to amplify stromal CXCL13 production and thereby promote LTi cell retention. Our data unify previous models of LN development by showing that lymphatics intervene at multiple points to assist LN expansion and identify a new role for mechanical forces in LN development.

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (38) ◽  
pp. 10643-10648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imtiaz Iftakhar-E-Khuda ◽  
Ruth Fair-Mäkelä ◽  
Anu Kukkonen-Macchi ◽  
Kati Elima ◽  
Marika Karikoski ◽  
...  

Afferent lymphatic vessels bring antigens and diverse populations of leukocytes to draining lymph nodes, whereas efferent lymphatics allow only lymphocytes and antigens to leave the nodes. Despite the fundamental importance of afferent vs. efferent lymphatics in immune response and cancer spread, the molecular characteristics of these different arms of the lymphatic vasculature are largely unknown. The objective of this work was to explore molecular differences behind the distinct functions of afferent and efferent lymphatic vessels, and find possible molecules mediating lymphocyte traffic. We used laser-capture microdissection and cell sorting to isolate lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) from the subcapsular sinus (SS, afferent) and lymphatic sinus (LS, efferent) for transcriptional analyses. The results reveal marked differences between afferent and efferent LECs and identify molecules on lymphatic vessels. Further characterizations of Siglec-1 (CD169) and macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (MSR1/CD204), show that they are discriminatively expressed on lymphatic endothelium of the SS but not on lymphatic vasculature of the LS. In contrast, endomucin (EMCN) is present on the LS endothelium and not on lymphatic endothelium of the SS. Moreover, both murine and human MSR1 on lymphatic endothelium of the SS bind lymphocytes and in in vivo studies MSR1 regulates entrance of lymphocytes from the SS to the lymph node parenchyma. In conclusion, this paper reports surprisingly distinct molecular profiles for afferent and efferent lymphatics and a function for MSR1. These results may open avenues to explore some of the now-identified molecules as targets to manipulate the function of lymphatic vessels.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (50) ◽  
pp. eabc2697
Author(s):  
Kim Pin Yeo ◽  
Hwee Ying Lim ◽  
Chung Hwee Thiam ◽  
Syaza Hazwany Azhar ◽  
Caris Tan ◽  
...  

A functional lymphatic vasculature is essential for tissue fluid homeostasis, immunity, and lipid clearance. Although atherosclerosis has been linked to adventitial lymphangiogenesis, the functionality of aortic lymphatic vessels draining the diseased aorta has never been assessed and the role of lymphatic drainage in atherogenesis is not well understood. We develop a method to measure aortic lymphatic transport of macromolecules and show that it is impaired during atherosclerosis progression, whereas it is ameliorated during lesion regression induced by ezetimibe. Disruption of aortic lymph flow by lymphatic ligation promotes adventitial inflammation and development of atherosclerotic plaque in hypercholesterolemic mice and inhibits ezetimibe-induced atherosclerosis regression. Thus, progression of atherosclerotic plaques may result not only from increased entry of atherogenic factors into the arterial wall but also from reduced lymphatic clearance of these factors as a result of aortic lymph stasis. Our findings suggest that promoting lymphatic drainage might be effective for treating atherosclerosis.


Angiogenesis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniyal J. Jafree ◽  
David A. Long ◽  
Peter J. Scambler ◽  
Christiana Ruhrberg

AbstractLymphatic vessels have critical roles in both health and disease and their study is a rapidly evolving area of vascular biology. The consensus on how the first lymphatic vessels arise in the developing embryo has recently shifted. Originally, they were thought to solely derive by sprouting from veins. Since then, several studies have uncovered novel cellular mechanisms and a diversity of contributing cell lineages in the formation of organ lymphatic vasculature. Here, we review the key mechanisms and cell lineages contributing to lymphatic development, discuss the advantages and limitations of experimental techniques used for their study and highlight remaining knowledge gaps that require urgent attention. Emerging technologies should accelerate our understanding of how lymphatic vessels develop normally and how they contribute to disease.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 018-022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Cintra Júnior ◽  
Miguel Luiz Antonio Modolin ◽  
Rodrigo Itocazo Rocha ◽  
Thadeu Rangel Fernandes ◽  
Ariel Barreto Nogueira ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the importance of treatment of deformities caused by massive localized lymphedema (MLL) in the severely obese. METHODS: in a period of seven years, nine patients with morbid obesity and a mean age of 33 years underwent surgical resection of massive localized lymphedema with primary synthesis. This is a retrospective study on the surgical technique, complication rates and improved quality of life. RESULTS: all patients reported significant improvement after surgery, with greater range of motion, ambulation with ease and more effective hygiene. Histological analysis demonstrated the existence of a chronic inflammatory process marked by lymphomonocitary infiltrate and severe tissue edema. We observed foci of necrosis, formation of microabscesses, points of suppuration and local fibrosis organization, and pachydermia. The lymphatic vessels and some blood capillaries were increased, depicting a framework of linfangiectasias. CONCLUSION: surgical treatment of MLL proved to be important for improving patients' quality of life, functionally rehabilitating them and optimizing multidisciplinary follow-up of morbid obesity, with satisfactory surgical results and acceptable complication rates, demonstrating the importance of treatment and awareness about the disease.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael RM Harrison ◽  
Xidi Feng ◽  
Guqin Mo ◽  
Antonio Aguayo ◽  
Jessi Villafuerte ◽  
...  

The cardiac lymphatic vascular system and its potentially critical functions in heart patients have been largely underappreciated, in part due to a lack of experimentally accessible systems. We here demonstrate that cardiac lymphatic vessels develop in young adult zebrafish, using coronary arteries to guide their expansion down the ventricle. Mechanistically, we show that in cxcr4a mutants with defective coronary artery development, cardiac lymphatic vessels fail to expand onto the ventricle. In regenerating adult zebrafish hearts the lymphatic vasculature undergoes extensive lymphangiogenesis in response to a cryoinjury. A significant defect in reducing the scar size after cryoinjury is observed in zebrafish with impaired Vegfc/Vegfr3 signaling that fail to develop intact cardiac lymphatic vessels. These results suggest that the cardiac lymphatic system can influence the regenerative potential of the myocardium.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Harmelink ◽  
Bin Zhou ◽  
Xianghu Qu ◽  
H. Scott Baldwin

Recently, it has been shown that the mechanical stimulus of turbulent shear stress caused by onset of lymph flow is required for lymphatic remodeling, maturation, and lymphatic valve (LV) development. Homeostasis of the adult lymphatic vasculature also relies on flow-mediated signal transduction. However, the cellular machinery responsible for transducing mechanosensory signals required for lymphatic network formation and maintenance is unknown. Our laboratory has previously shown that TIE1 is at least partially responsible for mechanotransduction of turbulent flow required for initiation and maintenance of atherosclerotic plaque formation at the branch points of systemic vasculature in the adult animal. Moreover, TIE1 is expressed throughout lymphatic vasculature during mouse embryogenesis into adulthood, with enrichment in LVs. To circumvent the embryonic lethality caused by global Tie1 disruption, we conditionally deleted Tie1 using Nfatc1Cre. Nfatc1Cre drives recombination in lymphatic endothelial cells, with strong expression in the LVs. Nfatc1Cre:Tie1fl/fl mutants survive to birth but accumulate chyle in the peritoneal and pleural cavities by postnatal day 2. The lymphatic vessels in the mutants are dilated and tortuous, and do not undergo normal hierarchical remodeling. The constrictions that normally indicate intraluminal valve development are lacking in the mutant lymphatic vessels. Underlying these defects in the Nfatc1Cre:Tie1fl/fl mutants is loss of the normal molecular landscape associated with lymphatic patterning and valvulogenesis. Therefore, we hypothesize that Tie1 orchestrates the mechanotransduction necessary for intraluminal LV development and postnatal maintenance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Martel ◽  
Wenjun Li ◽  
Brian Fulp ◽  
Andrew Platt ◽  
Emmanuel L Gautier ◽  
...  

Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) refers to mobilization of cholesterol on HDL particles (HDL-C) from extravascular tissues to plasma, ultimately for fecal excretion. Little is known about how HDL-C leaves peripheral tissues to reach plasma. We first used two models of disrupted lymphatic drainage from skin -one surgical and the other genetic- to quantitatively track RCT following injection of [3H]cholesterol-loaded macrophages upstream of blocked or absent lymphatic vessels. Macrophage RCT was markedly impaired in both models, even at sites with a leaky vasculature. Inhibited RCT was downstream of cholesterol efflux from macrophages, since macrophage efflux of a fluorescent cholesterol analogue (BODIPY-cholesterol) was not altered by impaired lymphatic drainage. We next addressed whether RCT was mediated by lymphatic vessels from the aortic wall by loading the aorta of donor atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice with [2H]6-labeled cholesterol and surgically transplanting these aortas into recipient apoE-/- mice that were treated with anti-VEGFR3 mAb to block lymphatic regrowth or with control mAb to allow such regrowth. [2H]-Cholesterol was retained in aortas of anti-VEGFR3 treated mice. Thus, the lymphatic vessel route is critical for RCT from multiple tissues, including the aortic wall. Therefore, supporting lymphatic transport function may facilitate cholesterol clearance in therapies aimed at reversing atherosclerosis.


Development ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (23) ◽  
pp. dev195453
Author(s):  
Boksik Cha ◽  
Yen-Chun Ho ◽  
Xin Geng ◽  
Md. Riaj Mahamud ◽  
Lijuan Chen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTLymphatic vasculature is an integral part of digestive, immune and circulatory systems. The homeobox transcription factor PROX1 is necessary for the development of lymphatic vessels, lymphatic valves (LVs) and lymphovenous valves (LVVs). We and others previously reported a feedback loop between PROX1 and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) signaling. PROX1 promotes the expression of the VEGF-C receptor VEGFR3 in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). In turn, VEGF-C signaling maintains PROX1 expression in LECs. However, the mechanisms of PROX1/VEGF-C feedback loop remain poorly understood. Whether VEGF-C signaling is necessary for LV and LVV development is also unknown. Here, we report for the first time that VEGF-C signaling is necessary for valve morphogenesis. We have also discovered that the transcriptional co-activators YAP and TAZ are required to maintain PROX1 expression in LVs and LVVs in response to VEGF-C signaling. Deletion of Yap and Taz in the lymphatic vasculature of mouse embryos did not affect the formation of LVs or LVVs, but resulted in the degeneration of these structures. Our results have identified VEGF-C, YAP and TAZ as a crucial molecular pathway in valve development.


Phlebologie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (04) ◽  
pp. 242-248
Author(s):  
René Hägerling

Abstract Introduction Lymphovascular diseases represent a heterogenous group of inherited and sporadic disorders and refer to a range of possible underlying pathologies and pathogenesis.Emberger Syndrome, an inherited form of lymphedema, is characterized by bilateral lower limb lymphedema, however, upper limbs do not show any signs of swelling.To identify disease-associated histopathological alterations in patients with Emberger Syndrome and to elucidate potential histological differences between the lymphatic vasculature of upper and lower limbs, a detailed knowledge on the 3-dimensional tissue and vessel architecture is essential. However, the current gold standard in 2-dimensional histology provides only very limited spatial information. Material and methods To elucidate the underlying vascular pathology in Emberger Syndrome on the cellular level, we applied the 3-dimensional visualization and analysis approach VIPAR (volume information-based histopathological analysis by 3D reconstruction and data extraction) to entire wholemount immunofluorescence-stained human tissue samples. VIPAR is a light sheet microscopy-based imaging technique, which allows 3-dimensional reconstruction of entire tissue biopsies followed by automated and semi-automated analysis of vascular parameters in 3-dimensional space. Results Using VIPAR we could show that in Emberger Syndrome the dermal lymphatic vasculature is intact and non-disrupted.However, lower limbs showed an hypoplastic lymphatic vasculature with absence of lymphatic valves in pre-collecting and collecting vessels. In contrast to the lower limbs, the lymphatic vasculature of the upper limbs showed no morphological alterations of lymphatic vessels and lymphatic valves compared to healthy controls. Discussion Based on the 3-dimensional histopathological analysis we were able to perform a detailed phenotyping of lymphatic vessels in the upper and lower limb in Emberger Syndrome and to identify the underlying vascular pathology. In addition, we could show vascular alteration between the upper and lower limbs indicating a vascular heterogeneity of dermal lymph vessels causing the lower limb lymphedema.


2017 ◽  
Vol 215 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana V. Petrova ◽  
Gou Young Koh

Recent discoveries of novel functions and diverse origins of lymphatic vessels have drastically changed our view of lymphatic vasculature. Traditionally regarded as passive conduits for fluid and immune cells, lymphatic vessels now emerge as active, tissue-specific players in major physiological and pathophysiological processes. Lymphatic vessels show remarkable plasticity and heterogeneity, reflecting their functional specialization to control the tissue microenvironment. Moreover, alternative developmental origins of lymphatic endothelial cells in some organs may contribute to the diversity of their functions in adult tissues. This review aims to summarize the most recent findings of organotypic differentiation of lymphatic endothelial cells in terms of their distinct (patho)physiological functions in skin, lymph nodes, small intestine, brain, and eye. We discuss recent advances in our understanding of the heterogeneity of lymphatic vessels with respect to the organ-specific functional and molecular specialization of lymphatic endothelium, such as the hybrid blood-lymphatic identity of Schlemm’s canal, functions of intestinal lymphatics in dietary fat uptake, and discovery of meningeal lymphatic vasculature and perivascular brain lymphatic endothelial cells.


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