The Aging Lymphatics Become More Mature

In 2012, this Journal was privileged to publish one of the early and seminal original contributions of Gashev and colleagues, ¹ in which they demonstrated that increase in oxidative stress and oxidative damage in the walls of mesenteric lymphatic vessels is associated with the aging process and, thus, may contribute to the aging-associated lymphatic pump dysfunction that the authors have previously reported. In the accompanying editorial to that original contribution, ² it was noted that, in contradistinction to the longstanding influence of gender upon the phenotypic expression of lymphatic dysfunction in disease, ³ there has been, prior to the investigative efforts of Gashev et al., little attention directed toward the role of aging in the function of the lymphatic circulation.

In the current issue of Lymphatic Research and Biology, we are privileged to provide a subsequent chapter in this evolving story. ⁴ The authors provide data to suggest that, within the lymphatic vasculature, the perivalvular zones of the vascular wall are minimally invested with muscle cells. These zones contain muscle cells with a predominant longitudinal orientation and a significant functional impact upon electrical coupling between adjacent lymphangions. Notably, it is the age-associated changes in these cells that appear to delimit adaptive reserves in the aging vasculature.

Furthermore, in an accompanying systematic review, ⁵ Gashev (the Lymphatic Physiology and Pharmacology Section Editor of this Journal) and his colleague Chatterjee have provided us with a comprehensive overview of the topic. The data presented here embrace age-associated changes in mesenteric lymphatic and thoracic duct contractility; in the function of peri-lymphatic mast cells, and on observations of age-associated alterations in structure and function of this vasculature. The authors correctly surmise that these observations are likely to have significant implications for the future development of pharmacology and other disease-oriented therapeutics.

Lymphatic Research and Biology is proud to be among the vanguard in disseminating important evolving concepts regarding the impact of the aging process upon the lymphatic vasculature.