Department of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200065, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 23;23(13):6970. doi: 10.3390/ijms23136970.
As an integral part of the vascular system, the lymphatic vasculature is essential for tissue fluid homeostasis, nutritional lipid assimilation and immune regulation. The composition of the lymphatic vasculature includes fluid-absorbing initial lymphatic vessels (LVs), transporting collecting vessels and anti-regurgitation valves. Although, in recent decades, research has drastically enlightened our view of LVs, investigations of initial LVs, also known as lymphatic capillaries, have been stagnant due to technical limitations. In the kidney, the lymphatic vasculature mainly presents in the cortex, keeping the local balance of fluid, solutes and immune cells. The contribution of renal LVs to various forms of pathology, especially chronic kidney diseases, has been addressed in previous studies, however with diverging and inconclusive results. In this review, we discuss the most recent advances in the proliferation and permeability of lymphatic capillaries as well as their influencing factors. Novel technologies to visualize and measure LVs function are described. Then, we highlight the role of the lymphatic network in renal fibrosis and the crosstalk between kidney and other organs, such as gut and heart.
作为脉管系统的一个组成部分，淋巴血管系统对于组织液稳态、营养脂质吸收和免疫调节至关重要。淋巴血管系统的组成包括吸收液体的初始淋巴管 (LVs)、转运的收集血管和抗反流瓣膜。尽管近几十年来，研究极大地启发了我们对 LVs 的认识，但由于技术限制，对初始 LVs（也称为淋巴毛细血管）的研究一直停滞不前。在肾脏中，淋巴血管系统主要存在于皮质中，维持局部的液体、溶质和免疫细胞平衡。先前的研究已经探讨了肾脏 LVs 对各种形式的病理，特别是慢性肾脏病的贡献，但结果存在分歧和不确定性。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了淋巴毛细血管增殖和通透性及其影响因素的最新进展。描述了用于可视化和测量 LVs 功能的新技术。然后，我们强调了淋巴网络在肾脏纤维化以及肾脏与其他器官（如肠道和心脏）之间相互作用中的作用。
