Research perspectives in inherited lymphatic disease: an update.

Genetic studies of inherited lymphedema have provided the starting point for the molecular dissection of lymphatic development and disease. Here, we update the recent contribution of the study of inherited lymphedema and discuss the parallels between mouse models of lymphedema and inherited lymphedema. That the known mutations leading to lymphatic phenotypes explain fewer than half the cases of lymphedema means that the continued study of these disorders may reveal new pathways in lymphatic biology.