Figure 2.

Abnormal lymphatic mature vessels in ear soft tissues of Relb^−/− mice. Whole-mount immunofluorescence staining for mature lymphatic vessels was performed in ear soft tissues of p52^−/−, Relb^−/−, and wild-type control mice. A: Representative images showing CD31⁺/α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)⁺ mature lymphatic vessels. Vessels covered by smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are indicated by white arrows, and vessels without SMC coverage are indicated by blue arrows. Fewer SMC-covered vessels are in Relb^−/− mice. B: SMC coverage (%)/vessel. One-way analysis of variance with Dunnett's test was performed. Data are expressed as means ± SD (B). n = 5 mice (B). *P < 0.05 versus control mice. Original magnification, ×10.