Gene-expression profiling of different arms of lymphatic vasculature identifies candidates for manipulation of cell traffic

Abstract

SignificanceThis paper elucidates one of the enigmas in immunology: What determines the discriminative traffic via afferent and efferent lymphatics? We report so far unrecognized and vastly distinct molecular profiles of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in the afferent and efferent arms of the lymphatic system in the lymph nodes. Moreover, the work takes three of the hit molecules to more detailed analyses regarding their expression and function, and presents a previously unknown function in regulation of the lymphocyte traffic for macrophage scavenger receptor on LECs of the subcapsular sinus. Importantly, the findings of this work may potentially be exploitable in drug design when searching for new targets to manipulate immune response or cancer spread.