Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Identifies a Range of Immunologically Related Functional Elaborations of Lymph Node Associated Lymphatic and Blood Endothelial Cells

Conclusions This study provides comprehensive comparative transcriptomic analyses of LN-LEC, LN-BEC, and D-LEC and has defined in detail gene expression differences that point to functional specializations of EC in different anatomical locations. Our goal was to provide a broad compendium of gene expression differences based on anatomic location and endothelial lineage, with a focus on genes of immunological interest. We believe that this information will be a significant and extremely useful resource for many workers in this field. Our data identify significantly expanded cohorts of immunologically significant genes either shared by LN-localized ECs, or expressed distinctly by one or the other LN-localized subset. These genes extend the understanding of both populations as regulators, not only of hematopoetic cell trafficking, but also cellular differentiation. They also point to an emerging understanding that LN-localized EC express a variety of receptors that enable them to sense immunologically relevant changes in their environment. Further exploration of the consequences of this sensing on EC proliferation, differentiation, and function in immunoregulation is an important area for further work. This study clarifies that both LN-localized EC function as antigen presenting cells, and this issue explored in somewhat greater detail elsewhere (Santambrogio et al., Manuscript Submitted1). Finally, this study highlights the surprising number of molecules involved in uptake of ...
Source: Frontiers in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research