The lymphatic vasculature is the critical interface between peripheral tissues and secondary lymphoid organs where adaptive immune responses are initiated. Though the immune response and the lymphatic vasculature are anatomically and functionally related, the contribution of these vessels to anti-tumor immunity remains underappreciated and unexplored. Our group tests the hypothesis that the lymphatic vasculature is an active regulator of cutaneous and tumor immunity both serving as the requisite route for immune priming and directly contributing to multiple mechanisms of immune resolution and tumor immune escape. By elucidating novel mechanisms of lymphatic vessel-mediated immune control we are working towards the long-term goal of identifying novel targets and strategies to use the lymphatic vasculature to tune immune function to enhance cancer immunotherapy.
Murine dermal vasculature. Lymphatic vessels (green), blood vessels (red), and dendritic cells (blue) (Sofia Loprinzi Hardin, 2015).
