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The Kidney Lymphatic Vasculature: Development, Cellular Origins and Implications for Renal Diseases

Jafree, Daniyal; (2022) The Kidney Lymphatic Vasculature: Development, Cellular Origins and Implications for Renal Diseases. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

Lymphatic vasculature, appreciated as a conduit for the clearance of tissue fluid, macromolecules and immune cell from tissues, is a promising target for therapeutic intervention in diseases including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Whereas studies of mouse embryos demonstrate these vessels assemble via diverse cellular mechanisms from several cellular origins, studies in mouse models of disease highlight distinct roles of lymphatics in the modulation of immunity. Despite these findings, little is known about lymphatics in development or disease of the kidney, an organ vital for waste excretion whilst maintaining fluid, electrolyte and endocrine homeostasis. The aim of this thesis was to study the development, cellular origins and structural and molecular profile of kidney lymphatics in renal health and disease. Firstly, wholemount immunohistochemistry, tissue clearing and three- dimensional imaging was used to conceive a spatial and quantitative timeline describing mammalian kidney lymphatic development, whilst identifying structural defects of kidney lymphatic in the early stages of murine polycystic kidney disease. Secondly, the cellular origins of kidney lymphatics were deciphered using Cre recombinase technology in mouse, providing evidence that 14-15% of kidney lymphatics arise from a lineage shared by differentiated renal cell types. Finally, three-dimensional imaging and single-cell RNA sequencing were applied to non-transplanted human kidneys or those with chronic transplant rejection. Chronic transplant rejection was associated with an expansion of kidney lymphatics and their infiltration into the medulla, a region of the kidney which is devoid of lymphatics in health. Further, the lymphatics of rejecting kidneys adopted an immunoregulatory profile, implicating these vessels in transplant longevity and allograft rejection. This thesis presents insights into when and how kidney lymphatics develop and implicate structural or molecular changes to these vessels as features of polycystic kidney disease and chronic transplant rejection. These findings inform future studies targeting and exploiting kidney lymphatics in renal development and disease.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: The Kidney Lymphatic Vasculature: Development, Cellular Origins and Implications for Renal Diseases
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10143667
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