Division of Matrix Biology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, United States.
Matrix Biol. 2010 Oct;29(8):645-56. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2010.08.001. Epub 2010 Aug 18.
The lymphatic system is important for body fluid balance as well as immunological surveillance. Due to the identification of new molecular markers during the last decade, there has been a recent dramatic increase in our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in lymphatic vessel growth (lymphangiogenesis) and lymphatic function. Here we review data showing that although it is often overlooked, the extracellular matrix plays an important role in the generation of new lymphatic vessels as a response to physiological and pathological stimuli. Extracellular matrix-lymphatic interactions as well as biophysical characteristics of the stroma have consequences for tumor formation, growth and metastasis. During the recent years, anti-lymphangiogenesis has emerged as an additional therapeutic modality to the clinically applied anti-angiogenesis strategy. Oppositely, enhancement of lymphangiogenesis in situations of lymph accumulation is seen as a promising strategy to a set of conditions where few therapeutic avenues are available. Knowledge on the interaction between the extracellular matrix and the lymphatics may enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and may ultimately lead to better therapies for conditions where reduced or increased lymphatic function is the therapeutic target.
淋巴系统对于体液平衡和免疫监视很重要。由于在过去十年中鉴定出了新的分子标记物，我们对涉及淋巴管生长（淋巴管生成）和淋巴管功能的分子机制的了解最近有了显著的增加。在这里，我们回顾了数据，表明尽管它经常被忽视，但细胞外基质在对生理和病理刺激产生新的淋巴管方面起着重要作用。细胞外基质与淋巴管的相互作用以及基质的生物物理特性对肿瘤的形成、生长和转移有影响。近年来，抗淋巴管生成已成为临床应用的抗血管生成策略之外的另一种治疗方式。相反，在淋巴积聚的情况下增强淋巴管生成被视为一种有前途的策略，可以应用于一系列治疗方法有限的情况下。关于细胞外基质与淋巴管之间相互作用的知识可以增强我们对潜在机制的理解，并最终为那些降低或增加淋巴管功能作为治疗目标的疾病提供更好的治疗方法。
