Lymphatic System and immune system illustrated

Cancer Nirvana




LGDA

Pleural function and lymphatics.

Sept 2012

Negrini D, Moriondo A.

Source

Department of Surgical and Morphological Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.

Abstract

The pleural space plays an important role in respiratory function as the negative intrapleural pressure regimen ensures lung expansion and in the mean time maintains the tight mechanical coupling between the lung and the chest wall. The efficiency of the lung-chest wall coupling depends upon pleural liquid volume, which in turn reflects the balance between the filtration of fluid into and its egress out of the cavity. While filtration occurs through a single mechanism passively driving fluid from the interstitium of the parietal pleura into the cavity, several mechanisms may co-operate to remove pleural fluid. Among these, the pleural lymphatic system emerges as the most important one in quantitative terms and the only one able to cope with variable pleural fluid volume and drainage requirements. In this review, we present a detailed account of the actual knowledge on: (a) the complex morphology of the pleural lymphatic system, (b) the mechanism supporting pleural lymph formation and propulsion, (c) the dependence of pleural lymphatic function upon local tissue mechanics and (d) the effect of lymphatic inefficiency in the development of clinically severe pleural and, more in general, respiratory pathologies.

Wiley OnLine

Rare subset of diseases involving the lymphatic system

Feb 2012

New Rochelle, NY, February 8, 2012—A clinically challenging and under-studied subset of diseases affecting the lymphatic system and grouped under the disease spectrum lymphangiomatosis and Gorham's disease is the focus of a special issue of Lymphatic Research and Biology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The issue is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/lrb

Guest Editor, and Journal Associate Editor Francine Blei MD, MBA, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, NY, has compiled a collection of articles that highlight the complex characteristics of these diseases, which can be localized, affect multiple sites, or be systemic, may be congenital or acquired, and may cause symptoms that range from mild to severe to life-threatening. The articles focus on current knowledge, ongoing research, and how these diseases differ from other lymphatic disorders.

"This disease spectrum affects a patient population that is small in number, but the effects of the disease(s) are devastating," says Stanley G. Rockson, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Lymphatic Research and Biology and Allan and Tina Neill Professor of Lymphatic Research and Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA. The collection of articles in this special issue, "highlights the current state of knowledge (and ignorance) in this paradoxically neglected area of lymphatic health and disease."

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Lymphatic Research and Biology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published quarterly in print and online that delivers the latest developments and advances in lymphatic biology and pathology from the world's leading biomedical investigators. Topics covered include vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, genetics of lymphatic disorders, human lymphatic disease, tumor biology and metastasis, pharmacology, lymphatic imaging, and inflammation, infection, and autoimmune disease. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/lrb

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 www.liebertpub.com
Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101

Understanding the Lymph System

Understanding the Lymph System

I thought it would be helpful for readers to understand the lymph system, the anatomy, what it does, and how it helps with immunity.

Listed below are information pages that should be quite helpful and each page has many additional links for more a more in depth study.

Anatomy of the Lymph System

Lymphatic System Functions

Lymphatic System and Immunity

Pathology of the Lymph Nodes and Lymphoma

Lymph Nodes

Lymph Fluid

Emilin1 Deficiency Causes Structural and Functional Defects of Lymphatic Vasculature

Emilin1 Deficiency Causes Structural and Functional Defects of Lymphatic Vasculature
Mol Cell Biol. 2008 Apr 14

Danussi C, Spessotto P, Petrucco A, Wassermann B, Sabatelli P, Montesi M, Doliana R, Bressan GM, Colombatti A.
Division of Experimental Oncology 2, Department of Molecular Oncology and Translational Research, CRO-IRCCS, Aviano, Pordenone, Italy; IGM-CNR, Unit of Bologna c/o IOR, Bologna, Italy; Mouse Genetics Laboratory, Department of Histology Microbiology and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; and MATI Center of Excellence, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.

Lymphatic vasculature function critically depends on extracellular matrix (ECM) and on its connections with lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). However, the composition and the architecture of ECM have been poorly taken into consideration when studying the biology and the pathology of the lymphatic system. EMILIN1, an elastic microfibril associated protein, is highly expressed by LECs in vitro and co-localizes with lymphatic vessels in several mouse tissues. A comparative study between wild-type and Emilin1(-/-) mice highlighted that Emilin1 deficiency in both CD1 and C57BL/6 background results in hyperplasia, enlargement and frequently irregular pattern of superficial and visceral lymphatic vessels and in a significant reduction of anchoring filaments. Emilin1-deficient mice also develop larger lymphangiomas than wild-type mice. Lymphatic vascular morphological alterations are accompanied by functional defects such as mild lymphedema, highly significant drop in lymph drainage, and enhanced lymph leakage. Our findings demonstrate that EMILIN1 is involved in the regulation of the growth and in the maintenance of the integrity of lymphatic vessels, a fundamental requirement for an efficient function. The phenotype displayed by Emilin1(-/-) mice is the first abnormal lymphatic phenotype associated with the deficiency of an ECM protein and identifies EMILIN1 as a novel local regulator of lymphangiogenesis.

Molecular and Cellular Biology

Imaging of the lymphatic system: new horizons

Imaging of the lymphatic system: new horizons

Contrast Media Mol Imaging.

Barrett T, Choyke PL, Kobayashi H.
Molecular Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, Building 10, Room 1B40, Bethesda, MD 20892-1088, USA.

Keywords:
Lymphatic imaging • sentinel node imaging • lymphangiography • contrast agent • lymphoscintigraphy

The lymphatic system is a complex network of lymph vessels, lymphatic organs and lymph nodes. Traditionally, imaging of the lymphatic system has been based on conventional imaging methods like computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whereby enlargement of lymph nodes is considered the primary diagnostic criterion for disease. This is particularly true in oncology, where nodal enlargement can be indicative of nodal metastases or lymphoma. CT and MRI on their own are, however, anatomical imaging methods. Newer imaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET), dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) provide a functional assessment of node status. None of these techniques is capable of detecting flow within the lymphatics and, thus, several intra-lymphatic imaging methods have been developed. Direct lymphangiography is an all-but-extinct method of visualizing the lymphatic drainage from an extremity using oil-based iodine contrast agents. More recently, interstitially injected intra-lymphatic imaging, such as lymphoscintigraphy, has been used for lymphedema assessment and sentinel node detection. Nevertheless, radionuclide-based imaging has the disadvantage of poor resolution. This has lead to the development of novel systemic and interstitial imaging techniques which are minimally invasive and have the potential to provide both structural and functional information; this is a particular advantage for cancer imaging, where anatomical depiction alone often provides insufficient information. At present the respective role each modality plays remains to be determined. Indeed, multi-modal imaging may be more appropriate for certain lymphatic disorders. The field of lymphatic imaging is ever evolving, and technological advances, combined with the development of new contrast agents, continue to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Wiley InterScience

Lymph node imaging: basic principles
Eur J Radiol.

Luciani A, Itti E, Rahmouni A, Meignan M, Clement O.
Service d'Imagerie Médicale, Hôpital Henri Mondor, 51 avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, 94010 Créteil cedex, France. alain.luciani@hmn.ap-hop-paris.fr

Keywords: Lymph node, Sentinel node, Magnetic resonance (MR), Positron emission tomography (PET), Computed tomography (CT

Lymph nodes are involved in a wide variety of diseases, particularly in cancer. In the latter, precise nodal staging is essential to guide therapeutic options and to determine prognosis. For long, imaging of the lymphatic system has been limited to lymph vessel,especially via the exclusive use of conventional lymphography, at the expense of invasive procedures and patient's discomfort. Three main technical advances, however, have recently completed the clinical armamentarium for lymph node imaging: first, the refinement of cross sectional imaging, i.e. CT and MRI, combined or not with dedicated contrast agents, has progressively replaced conventional lymphography in oncology situations; second, the development of intra-operative sentinel node mapping has profoundly modified the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in several cancer situations, mostly melanoma and breast cancer; finally, the increased availability of functional imaging, especially through the use of FDG-PET, has greatly contributed to the accuracy improvement of nodal metastases identification. The aim of this review will thus be to briefly review the anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic systems and to overview the basic principles of up-to-date lymph node imaging.

Elsevier