VEGFR-3 in Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis

Blood and lymphatic vessels develop in a parallel, but independent manner, and together form the circulatory system allowing the passage of fluid and delivering molecules within the body. Although the lymphatic vessels were discovered 300 years ago, at the same time as the blood circulation was described, the lymphatic system has remained relatively neglected until the present. This is in part due to the difficulties in recognizing these vessels in tissues because of a lack of specific markers. Over the past few years several molecules expressed specifically in the lymphatic endothelial cells have been characterized, and knowledge about the lymphatic system has started to accumulate