Cutting edge Seminar

 

Speaker: Masanori Hirashima（Professor, Division of Pharmacology School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Niigata University）

Title: Lymphatic vascular development and related diseases

Date&Time: 17 June (wed)　12：00-13：00

Venue: Conference Room(1F), IMEG, Kumamoto University

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “S-HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar A, B” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=136783

 

Abstract:

Lymphatic vessels, together with blood vessels, form the body’s lifeline and play a vital role in maintaining fluid homeostasis, immune responses, lipid absorption and the removal of foreign substances. During development, lymphatic endothelial cells differentiate from venous endothelial cells to form lymph sacs, which fuse with one another to form the lymphatic network. In adults, the lymphatic network is separated from the vascular network in peripheral tissues, but it anastomoses with blood vessels near the venous angle in the neck, returning lymph collected from throughout the body to the veins. Abnormalities in the developmental process are closely linked to the development of pathological conditions and are responsible for conditions such as fetal nuchal edema and lymphatic malformations (lymphangiomas). Furthermore, if there are abnormalities in platelet activation triggered by contact with lymphatic endothelial cells, the lymphatic and vascular systems fail to separate correctly. In this seminar, focusing on these topics elucidated through the analysis of mouse models, I will introduce the molecular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis and the pathologies arising from their abnormalities, and discuss the potential for vascular regulation based on these findings.