Justine Creff, Asalaa Lamaa, Emeline Benuzzi, Elisa Balzan, Francoise Pujol, Tangra Draia-Nicolau, Manon Nougué, Lena Verdu, Florent Morfoisse, Eric Lacazette, Philippe Valet, Benoit Chaput, Fabian Gross, Regis Gayon, Pascale Bouillé, Julie Malloizel-Delaunay, Alessandra Bura-Rivière, Anne-Catherine Prats, Barbara Garmy-Susini
Secondary lymphedema (LD) corresponds to a severe lymphatic dysfunction leading to the accumulation of fluid and fibrotic adipose tissue in a limb. Here, we identified apelin (APLN) as a powerful molecule for regenerating lymphatic function in LD. We identified the loss of APLN expression in the lymphedematous arm compared to the normal arm in patients. The role of APLN in LD was confirmed in APLN knockout mice, in which LD is increased and associated with fibrosis and dermal backflow. This was reversed by intradermal injection of APLN-lentivectors...
January 2, 2024: EMBO Molecular Medicine