Visualization of lymphatic vessels through NF-κB activity

Abstract

The molecular biology of lymphatics is only rudimentary owing to the long-standing absence of specific markers, and scanty is the information regarding bladder lymphatic vessels. By using mice with a reporter gene for nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activity (κB-lacZ) in combination with immunohistochemical staining with a specific lymphatic marker (LYVE-1), we show, for the first time, that NF-κB is constitutively active in lymphatic endothelium in the urinary bladder, uterus, intestine, heart, and airways. Tie2-lacZ mice confirmed that the structures observed in κB-lacZ mice were not blood vessels. In addition, acute instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) into the κB-lacZ mouse bladder revealed the capacity of this transgenic in reporting inducible NF-κB activity. Our findings demonstrate an overriding constitutive NF-κB activity in the lymphatic system. They also provide a working model for detecting lymphatic vessels and evoke testable hypotheses regarding the role of lymphatic vessels in health and disease.