The third vasculature gets attention

Abstract

Traditionally, researchers studying the vasculature examine either the biology of the large, arterial, high-pressure vessels or the resistance-regulating (arteriolar) or microvessels (capillaries), or less commonly, the venous, low-pressure vasculature. The lymphatic vasculature gets far less attention by the cardiovascular research community. This is despite the fact that the lymphatics play very important roles in the tissue clearance of macromolecules, in the removal of immigrated cells from tissues such as after inflammation, and in the interstitial fluid homeostasis. Nevertheless, comparably little is known about the growth and maintenance of lymphatics during adult life. In a laudable paper in this issue of Cardiovascular Research , Jin et al. describe experimental studies examining the post-developmental regulation of lymphangiogenesis by a novel regulator and validate in vitro findings in a lymphedema disease model in mice.1 These investigators developed the hypothesis that adrenomedullin promotes lymphangiogenesis after injury. This is suggested by a series of previous observations indicating that this peptide with known vasodilator functions (and diuresis induction due to … *Corresponding author. Tel: +1 310 222 3891; fax: +1 310 782 1837. E-mail address : rhirschberg{at}labiomed.org