Abstract
Purpose: :
Lymphatic research is an active area of new discovery that has experienced explosive growth during recent years. Lymphatic dysfunction has been found in many disorders from cancer metastasis to transplant rejection. However, to date, treatment for lymphatic disorders is still inadequate. This study investigates whether angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) is involved in corneal inflammatory lymphangiogenesis (LG).
Methods: :
Both murine suture-induced corneal inflammation and human lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) culture models were used to study the expression of Ang2 on newly formed lymphatic vessels in vivo and LECs in vitro. Additionally, corneal inflammatory LG was also assessed in Ang2 knockout (Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tarrytown, NY) and control conditions. Digital images from immunofluorescent microscopic assays were analyzed by NIH Image J software.
Results: :
Ang2 expression was detected on both newly formed lymphatic vessels in the cornea and LECs in culture. Furthermore, corneal LG was significantly suppressed in Ang2 knockout mice.
Conclusions: :
These new findings indicate that the Ang2 pathway is critically involved in lymphatic processes. Further studies on this pathway may provide novel insights and strategies to approach lymphatic disorders, both inside (such as corneal transplant rejection) and outside (such as cancer metastasis) the eye.
Keywords: cornea: basic science • neovascularization • immunomodulation/immunoregulation