Isolation of LYVE-1⁺ Endothelial Cells from Mouse Embryos

Lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1, or LYVE-1, is a type 1 integral membrane glycoprotein expressed by lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). LYVE-1 is commonly used as a biological marker to visually distinguish developing lymphatic vessels from blood endothelial cells (arteries or veins). As our understanding of lymphatic biology is still lacking today, the need to isolate LECs apart from other endothelial cells has taken on greater importance. The following procedure describes a magnetic bead separation procedure for isolating LEC-rich populations of cells from developing mouse embryos.