Lymphatic blood filling in CLEC-2-deficient mouse models

EJ Haining, KL Lowe, S Wichaiyo, RP Kataru, Z Nagy… - Platelets, 2021 - Taylor & Francis
EJ Haining, KL Lowe, S Wichaiyo, RP Kataru, Z Nagy, DP Kavanagh, S Lax, Y Di…
Platelets, 2021Taylor & Francis
C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2) is considered as a potential drug target in settings of
wound healing, inflammation, and infection. A potential barrier to this is evidence that CLEC-
2 and its ligand podoplanin play a critical role in preventing lymphatic vessel blood filling in
mice throughout life. In this study, this aspect of CLEC-2/podoplanin function is investigated
in more detail using new and established mouse models of CLEC-2 and podoplanin
deficiency, and models of acute and chronic vascular remodeling. We report that CLEC-2 …
Abstract
C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2) is considered as a potential drug target in settings of wound healing, inflammation, and infection. A potential barrier to this is evidence that CLEC-2 and its ligand podoplanin play a critical role in preventing lymphatic vessel blood filling in mice throughout life. In this study, this aspect of CLEC-2/podoplanin function is investigated in more detail using new and established mouse models of CLEC-2 and podoplanin deficiency, and models of acute and chronic vascular remodeling. We report that CLEC-2 expression on platelets is not required to maintain a barrier between the blood and lymphatic systems in unchallenged mice, post-development. However, under certain conditions of chronic vascular remodeling, such as during tumorigenesis, deficiency in CLEC-2 can lead to lymphatic vessel blood filling. These data provide a new understanding of the function of CLEC-2 in adult mice and confirm the essential nature of CLEC-2-driven platelet activation in vascular developmental programs. This work expands our understanding of how lymphatic blood filling is prevented by CLEC-2-dependent platelet function and provides a context for the development of safe targeting strategies for CLEC-2 and podoplanin.
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