Cardiac lymphatics are heterogeneous in origin and respond to injury.

• Autores: Linda Klotz, Sophie Norman, Joaquim Miguel Vieira, Megan Masters, Mala Rohling, Karina N. Dube
• Localización: Nature: International weekly journal of science, ISSN 0028-0836, Vol. 522, Nº 7554, 2015, págs. 62-67
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The lymphatic vasculature is a blind-ended network crucial for tissue-fluid homeostasis, immune surveillance and lipid absorption from the gut. Recent evidence has proposed an entirely venous-derived mammalian lymphatic system. By contrast, here we show that cardiac lymphatic vessels in mice have a heterogeneous cellular origin, whereby formation of at least part of the cardiac lymphatic network is independent of sprouting from veins. Multiple Cre-lox-based lineage tracing revealed a potential contribution from the putative haemogenic endothelium during development, and discrete lymphatic endothelial progenitor populations were confirmed by conditional knockout of Prox1 in Tie2+ and Vav1+ compartments. In the adult heart, myocardial infarction promoted a significant lymphangiogenic response, which was augmented by treatment with VEGF-C, resulting in improved cardiac function. These data prompt the re-evaluation of a century-long debate on the origin of lymphatic vessels and suggest that lymphangiogenesis may represent a therapeutic target to promote cardiac repair following injury.