Diphtheria toxin-mediated ablation of lymphatic endothelial cells results in progressive lymphedema.

ABSTRACT: Development of novel treatments for lymphedema has been limited by the fact that the pathophysiology of this disease is poorly understood. It remains unknown, for example, why limb swelling resulting from surgical injury resolves initially, but recurs in some cases months or years later. Finding answers for these basic questions has been hampered by the lack of adequate animal models. In the current study, we used Cre-lox mice that expressed the human diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) driven by a lymphatic-specific promoter in order to noninvasively ablate the lymphatic system of the hind limb. Animals treated in this manner developed lymphedema that was indistinguishable from clinical lymphedema temporally, radiographically, and histologically. Using this model and clinical biopsy sp

SUBMITTER: Gardenier JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5033805 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature