Department of Genetics and Tumor Cell Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memphis, TN 38105, USA. guillermo.oliver@stjude.org
The recent identification of lymphatic endothelial cell-specific markers and the generation of mouse models harboring mutations in many genes that encode those markers have enabled us to begin to elucidate the developmental steps that go toward establishing the lymphatic vasculature network. Understanding these basic mechanisms of lymphatic development will improve our ability to diagnose, prevent, and ideally treat lymphatic disorders.