title: Aged lymphatic contractility: recent answers and new questions.
abstract: Abstract An overview is presented of recent findings related to biology of aging of the lymph transport system. The authors discuss recently obtained data on the aging-associated alterations of lymphatic contractility in thoracic duct and mesenteric lymphatic vessels; on comparisons of function of aged mesenteric lymphatic vessels in situ versus isolated specimens and important conclusions which arose from these studies; on aging-associated changes in functional status of mast cells located close to aged mesenteric lymphatic vessels; on evidence of presence of oxidative stress in aged lymphatic vessels and changes in arrangement of muscle cells in their walls. The authors conclude that future continuation of the research efforts in this area is necessary and will be able to provide not only novel fundamental knowledge on the biology of lymphatic aging, but also will create solid foundation for the subsequent developments of lymphatic-oriented therapeutic interventions in many diseases of the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas 76504, USA. gashev@tamu.edu
authors.forename: Anatoliy A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gashev
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000502:physiology*; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology; D008643:Mesentery / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013897:Thoracic Duct / Q000502:physiology*