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. 2016 Oct 6;1(16):e89081. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.89081

Figure 2. Depletion of CD4+ cells improves lymphedema and lymphatic function.

Figure 2

(A) Representative photographs of tails of control and anti-CD4–treated (aCD4 in figure) mice. Scale bar: 1 cm. (B) Depletion of CD4+ cells immediately following induction of lymphedema leads to significantly reduced tail volumes 3 and 4 weeks after surgery (n = 5–6 per group). (C) Representative micrographs depicting the significantly reduced lymphatic vascular dilation in the anti-CD4–treated group. Scale bar: 200 μm. (D) Quantification of tissue area covered by lymphatic vessels, including the luminal area. (E) qPCR analysis of VEGF-C mRNA expression in total tissue extracts. (F) Representative images of the tail lymphatic network close to the surgical site, visualized by uptake and transport of a lymphatic-specific fluorescent tracer 20 minutes after infusion near the tip of the tail. Scale bars: 2 mm. (G) Quantification of lymphatic vascular transport based on fluorescence intensity revealed significantly improved lymphatic vessel function in the proximity of the surgical excision margin after anti-CD4 treatment (n = 4–6 per group, in at least 2 replicates). Statistical analysis was done with 2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test (B) or Student’s t test (D, E, and G), *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.