Targeting Lymphatic Vessel Activation and CCL21 Production by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 Inhibition Has Novel Immunomodulatory and Antiarteriosclerotic Effects in Cardiac Allografts

Abstract

These results show that VEGFR-3 participates in immune cell traffic from peripheral tissues to secondary lymphoid organs by regulating allograft lymphatic vessel CCL21 production and suggest VEGFR-3 inhibition as a novel lymphatic vessel-targeted immunomodulatory therapy for cardiac allograft rejection and arteriosclerosis.