Figure 1

Endothelial-specific deletion of IL-7Rα decreases lymphatic drainage and increases edema formation in TPA-induced inflammation. (a) IL-7Rα^ΔEC and control (CTR) mice were injected with a P20D800 conjugate i.d. in the uninflamed ear skin. Clearance of the tracer was monitored over 24 hours using an IVIS imaging system. Average clearance plots of P20D800 (left) and calculated half-lives (right) in CTR and IL-7Rα^−/− mice (data from 1 experiment with 6 mice per group). (b) TPA (black arrow) was applied to the ears of IL-7Rα^ΔEC and CTR mice on day 1. (c) Average clearance plots of P20D800 (left) and calculated half-lives (right) on day 2 after TPA, assessed as in (A). (d) Ear thickness measurements between days 1–3. *** p < 0.001. FACS-based quantification of the number of (e,i) CD45⁺ cells, (f) CD3⁺ T cells, (g–l) DCs, (h) neutrophils, (j) CD4⁺ T cells, (k) CD8⁺ T cells in the ear skin (e–h) and dLNs (i–l) on day 3. Per animal, both ears and both ear-dLNs were pooled for the FACS analysis. Pooled data (mean ± SEM) from 2 similar experiments with a total of 11–12 mice per group are shown for (b–l).