Shan Liao

Initial lymphatic vessels collect interstitial fluid to create lymph. The collected lymph is transported through collecting lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes, and eventually returned to blood circulation to maintain tissue fluid balance. Antigen and dendritic cells (DCs) use this route to enter the draining lymph node (LN) to initiate an immune response. Metastatic tumor cells also frequently spread through lymphatic vessels and colonize in LNs. Following the treatment with radiation and surgery, cancer patients frequently develop lymphedema. The major cause of lymphedema in the world is lymphatic filariasis, which is caused by mosquito-borne parasitic infections of the lymphatic system.

We are using inflammation, infection and cancer models to study the function of lymphatic system. We are pursuing projects focused on three areas: i) the regulation of lymphatic contraction in disease models; ii) the role of lymphatic vessels/lymph flow in control of antigen delivery to the lymph node; and iii) the mechanism of immune suppression elicited by lymph flow via regulation of lymph node non-hematopoietic stroma cells, such as fibroblast reticular cells (FRCs), follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) and lymphatic endothelial cells.