Analysis of the specific molecule expression in lymphangiogenesis and cancer metastsis

近年来，利用内皮细胞特异性标记物识别淋巴管的新的组织化学方法的发展和应用，使得在毛细血管水平上区分淋巴管和血管成为可能，从而使淋巴管的研究取得了显著进展。尤其是在淋巴管内皮细胞中特异表达和定位的几个功能分子，如5‘-核苷酸酶、淋巴管内皮生长因子受体-1酪氨酸激酶、血管内皮生长因子受体-3、泊多普宁和Prox-1。淋巴管生成的生物学，特别是其调节机制，对于理解淋巴管系统作为运输组织液和包括淋巴细胞在内的游动细胞的生物调节系统的形成以及涉及淋巴管生成的疾病是非常重要的。了解淋巴管生成的分子机制，阐明正常组织和病理组织的发育，有望为恶性肿瘤、淋巴水肿等顽固性疾病的治疗提供新的思路。我们考察了组织化学对淋巴管生成领域的洞察，特别强调了新的和可靠的淋巴管内皮细胞标记物，以及实验性损伤后的淋巴管再生。

The recent development and application of new histochemical methods for identifying lymphatics using endothelial specific markers have enabled the distinction between lymphatic and blood vessels at the capillary level, resulting in marked advance in the study of lymphatics. In particular, several functional molecules specifically expressed and localized in lymphatic endothelial cells, such as 5'-nucleotidase, lymphatic endothelial growth factor receptor-1 tyrosine kinase, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3, podoplanin and Prox-1, have been identified. The biology of lymphangiogenesis, particularly the mechanism of its regulation, is very important in understanding the formation of the lymphatic system as a biological regulation system transporting tissue fluid and wandering cells, including lymphocytres, and disease involving lymphangiogenesis. The understanding of the molecular mechanism of lymphangiogenesis and the elucidation of the development of normal and pathological tissues are expected to lead to the development of therapy for intractable diseases, such as malignant tumors and lymphedema. We examined the histochemical insight into the field of lymphangiogenesis, with special emphasis on the novel and reliable lymphatic endothelial cell markers, as well as on lymphatic regeneration after experimental injury.