Insight into Lymphatic Vasculature Development

Our understanding of the genes and mechanisms controlling the formation of the lymphatic vasculature during embryonic development has improved a great deal during the last decade. The availability of molecular markers that allow us to distinguish the lymphatic vasculature from the blood vasculature and the generation of mouse models with various degrees of lymphatic defects have been instrumental to the progress in this field. In this chapter, we highlight some of the key molecular players that regulate the development of the lymphatic vasculature and some available mouse models of lymphatic disorders.