title: The inflammatory response of lymphatic endothelium.
abstract: Lymphatic vessels have traditionally been regarded as a rather inert drainage system, which just passively transports fluids, leukocytes and antigen. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the lymphatic vasculature is highly dynamic and plays a much more active role in inflammatory and immune processes. Tissue inflammation induces a rapid, stimulus-specific upregulation of chemokines and adhesion molecules in lymphatic endothelial cells and a proliferative expansion of the lymphatic network in the inflamed tissue and in draining lymph nodes. Moreover, increasing evidence suggests that inflammation-induced changes in the lymphatic vasculature have a profound impact on the course of inflammatory and immune responses, by modulating fluid drainage, leukocyte migration or the removal of inflammatory mediators from tissues. In this review we will summarize and discuss current knowledge of the inflammatory response of lymphatic endothelium and of inflammation-induced lymphangiogenesis and the current perspective on the overall functional significance of these processes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli Str. 10, HCI H413, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aebischer
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iolyeva
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Halin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004729:Endothelium, Lymphatic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators