Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Acta Histochem. 2019 May;121(4):392-399. doi: 10.1016/j.acthis.2019.03.001. Epub 2019 Mar 6.
Numerous lymphatic anastomosing channels in the lymph nodes are the most demonstrative finding of the rare lesion termed "vascular transformation of lymph node sinuses" (VTS). The mechanism of lymphatic vessel formation in VTS has not been studied. Vessel intussusception contributes to vascular expansion, and intraluminal pillars/posts, interstitial tissue structures or larger pillars (ITSs) and folds are the hallmarks of this process in blood vessels. The aim of this work is to assess whether these hallmarks of intussusception occur in VTS lymphatic vessels, indicating intussusceptive lymphangiogenesis. For this purpose, specimens of five cases of VTS were used for serial histological sections, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence in confocal microscopy, which enabled us to demonstrate the 3D image that defines the pillars. The studies showed a) meshworks of lymphatic vessels, which form complex loops, resembling sinuses of lymph nodes, b) presence of intralymphatic pillars, ITSs and folds, with a cover of lymphatic endothelial cells expressing podoplanin and a varying-sized connective core (e.g. collagen), and c) increase of vessel meshwork and linear arrangement, splitting and fusion of ITSs, pillars and folds, with remodelling and segmentation. In conclusion, the development of lymphatic vessel loops, ITSs, pillars and folds with segmentation in VTS supports intussusceptive lymphangiogenesis. This mechanism of intussusception is of interest because it participates in VTS histogenesis, contributes to general knowledge of intussusceptive lymphangiogenesis, which has received less attention than intussusception in blood vessels, and provides a basis for further studies in other lymphatic conditions.
淋巴结中存在大量淋巴管吻合通道，这是一种罕见病变“淋巴结窦血管转化”（VTS）最具特征性的发现。VTS 中淋巴管形成的机制尚未得到研究。血管内套叠有助于血管扩张，而腔内支柱/柱(posts)、间质组织结构或较大的支柱（ITSs）和褶皱是血管内套叠过程的特征。本研究的目的是评估这些内套叠特征是否发生在 VTS 淋巴管中，以指示内套叠性淋巴管生成。为此，使用了五例 VTS 标本进行连续组织学切片、免疫组织化学和共聚焦显微镜免疫荧光染色，这使我们能够展示定义支柱的 3D 图像。研究结果表明：a) 淋巴管网形成复杂的环，类似于淋巴结窦；b) 存在腔内支柱、ITSs 和褶皱，其被表达 podoplanin 的淋巴管内皮细胞覆盖，并具有不同大小的结缔组织核心（如胶原）；c) 淋巴管网和线性排列增加，ITSs、支柱和褶皱的分裂和融合，以及重塑和分段。总之，VTS 中淋巴管环、ITSs、支柱和褶皱的形成以及分段支持内套叠性淋巴管生成。这种内套叠机制很有趣，因为它参与了 VTS 的组织发生，有助于增加对内套叠性淋巴管生成的认识，该机制比血管内套叠受到的关注要少，并为进一步研究其他淋巴条件提供了基础。
