Fig. 7
From: Anatomy and function of the vertebral column lymphatic network in mice
vLVs are VEGF-C dependent and remodel after spinal injury. a–f VEGF-C induces epidural and dural lymphangiogenesis. a–c Cervical spine lymphangiogenesis after i.c.m. injection of AAV-mVEGF-C. a Schematic of i.c.m. injection to deliver AAVs into the CSF and toward the cervical spine. b, c LSFM coronal view of the cervical spine one month after AAV injection. Pattern of PROX1+ LVs (white) in AAV-control (b) and AAV-mVEGF-C (c) mice. Note that VEGF-C induced a robust epidural and dural lymphangiogenesis. d–f Thoraco-lumbar lymphangiogenesis induced by lumbo-sacral delivery of AAV-mVEGF-C. d Schematic of AAV injection sites into the lumbo-sacral spinal cord, adapted from Fig. 2c in ref. 59. e, f Pattern of PROX1+ LVs (white) in AAV-control (e) and AAV-mVEGF-C (f) mice. White asterisk: vertebral ventral body; SC: Spinal cord. g–i Focal injury in the thoraco-lumbar spinal cord. g Schematic of LPC injection into the thoraco-lumbar spinal cord, adapted from Fig. 2c in ref. 59. h, i Pattern of PROX1+ LVs (white) in control-non lesioned (h) and LPC-injected mice (i). Inset in (i) shows the spinal cord lesion (stippled area), spatial orientation (D: dorsal, L: lateral, V: ventral). j, k Quantification of lymphatic vessel diameter (red stippled area in (i)) after LPC-spinal cord injury in gain- and loss-of-mVEGF-C signaling mice (j) and in LPC-injured K14-VEGFR3-Ighom mice and -K14-VEGFR3-Ighet (control) mice (k). n = 4 biologically independent mice/independent experiment, and data show mean+/−SD (error bar) in (j, k); one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple-comparisons test (j) and Mann–Whitney U test (k); *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Scale bars: 300 µm (b, c, e, f, h, i)
