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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
A Revised Method for Inducing Secondary Lymphedema in the Hindlimb of Mice
Published on: November 2, 2019
Adipose-derived stem cell transplantation for therapeutic lymphangiogenesis in a mouse secondary lymphedema model
Shuhei Yoshida1, Rodrigo Hamuy1, Yuuichi Hamada2
1Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Developmental & Reconstructive Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852 8501, Japan.
Aim:
Secondary lymphedema is observed in common after postmalignancy treatment of the breast and the gynecologic organs but effective therapies are not established. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), which are pluripotent, regenerative in local injection, are tested for murine hindlimb secondary lymphedema by regenerative method.
Methods & Results:
Mice were divided into four groups: no ADSCs, 1 × 10(6) ADSCs, 1 × 10(5) ADSCs and 1 × 10(4) ADSCs (each group, n = 20) in a stringent surgical resection and irradiation. Circumferential measurement, lymphatic flow assessment and quantification of lymphatic vessels were performed.
Results:
The numbers of lymphatic vessels by LYVE-1 immunohistochemistry, and VEGF-C- or VEGFR3-expressing cells were significantly increased in transplanted groups (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
ADSCs can restore the lymphatic vascular network in secondary lymphedema with increased collecting vessels.
