TY - JOUR A2 - Cursiefen, Claus AU - Nakao, Shintaro AU - Hafezi-Moghadam, Ali AU - Ishibashi, Tatsuro PY - 2012 DA - 2012/03/05 TI - Lymphatics and Lymphangiogenesis in the Eye SP - 783163 VL - 2012 AB - Lymphatic is a prerequisite for the maintenance of tissue fluid balance and immunity in the body. A body of evidence also shows that lymphangiogenesis plays important roles in the pathogenesis of diseases such as tumor metastasis and inflammation. The eye was thought to lack lymphatic vessels except for the conjunctiva; however, advances in the field, including the identification of lymphatic endothelial markers (e.g., LYVE-1 or podoplanin) and lymphangiogenic factors (e.g., VEGF-C), have revealed the exsitence and possible roles of lymphatics and lymphangiogenesis in the eye. Recent studies have shown that corneal limbus, ciliary body, lacrimal gland, orbital meninges, and extraocular muscles contain lymphatic vessels and that the choroid might have a lymphatic-like system. There is no known lymphatic outflow from the eye. However, several lymphatic channels including uveolymphatic pathway might serve the ocular fluid homeostasis. Furthermore, lymphangiogenesis plays important roles in pathological conditions in the eye including corneal transplant rejection and ocular tumor progression. Yet, the role of lymphangiogenesis in most eye diseases, especially inflammatory disease or edema, remains unknown. A better understanding of lymphatic and lymphangiogenesis in the eye will open new therapeutic opportunities to prevent vision loss in ocular diseases. SN - 2090-004X UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/783163 DO - 10.1155/2012/783163 JF - Journal of Ophthalmology PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -