The transcriptional control of lymphatic vascular development.

Abstract

More than 100 years ago, Florence Sabin suggested that lymphatic vessels develop by sprouting from preexisting blood vessels, but it is only over the past decade that the molecular mechanisms underpinning lymphatic vascular development have begun to be elucidated. Genetic manipulations in mice have identified a transcriptional hub comprised of Prox1, CoupTFII, and Sox18 that is essential for lymphatic endothelial cell fate specification. Recent work has identified a number of additional transcription factors that regulate later stages of lymphatic vessel differentiation and maturation. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of the transcriptional control of lymphatic vas..