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. 2017 Jan 12;2(1):e90861. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.90861

Figure 4. Limited lymphatic transport in K14-VEGFR-3-Fc mice compared with WT littermates.

Figure 4

Twelve-week-old female K14-VEGFR-3-Fc or WT littermates were s.c. injected with 5 μl of 200 μM 40-kDa PEG–IRDye800 conjugate (P40D800) in the dorsal aspect of the right rear paw. (A) Representative saphenous vein signal in a WT mouse 60 minutes after s.c. injection of P40D800 during anesthetized conditions with the paw massaged for 10 seconds every 5 minutes from t = 5 to 50 minutes. (B) Representative saphenous vein signal in a K14-VEGFR-3-Fc mouse under the same conditions. Scale bars: 500 μm. (C) Saphenous vein signal enhancement plots of K14-VEGFR-3-Fc and WT mice (n = 4 each). Dashed lines indicate SD. (D) Quantification of the fluorescent signal enhancement at t = 60 minutes. (E) Linear slope of signal enhancement from t = 30 to 45 minutes. (F) Time of arrival of tracer to the blood circulation (set at a threshold of 100 counts of signal enhancement). Three of 4 mice in the K14-VEGFR-3-Fc group did not reach this threshold. (G) Quantification of fluorescent signal from a 40-kDa PEG–IRDye680 conjugate (P40D680) at t = 60 minutes after s.c. injection, during which mice were awake and moving normally. K14-VEGFR-3-Fc mice showed signal at baseline levels (red dashed line) indicating no transport to blood. ***P < 0.001 (2-tailed Student’s t test). Data are the mean ± SD.