Molecular and cellular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis.

Lymphangiogenesis is the growth and formation of new lymphatic vessels. It occurs in normally developing tissues and in pathological processes like inflammation, wound healing, lymphoedema and in cancer. New molecular markers that are specific to the lymphatic endothelium include: podoplanin, prox-1 and LYVE-1. The molecular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis are not clear, but vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF-C and VEGF-D) within tumours may simulate endothelial cells within tumour tissues to grow and generate new lymphatics. We report the current knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis.