Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways which is increasingly observed in developed countries and which is characterized by airflow obstruction. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. The disease is driven by an exaggerated inflammatory response to inhaled allergens, such as house dust mites, pollen and animal dander. A crucial event in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma is the migration of allergen transporting dendritic cells to the lung draining lymph nodes via lymphatic vessels. In many diseases, lymphatic vessels are affected by inflammation; however, it is currently not known whether this is also the case in allergic asthma. In this project we want to study the nature and
heterogeneity of lymphatic endothelial cells and the kinetics of lymphatic vessels in bronchial asthma. Furthermore, we want to investigate whether lymphatic endothelial cells can modulate the course of bronchial asthma by retaining antigen in the lungs. Finally, we aim to study the effect
of neutralization of genes that are highly expressed by lymphatic endothelial cells. Together, these experiments will help to understand how these processes can be modulated for asthma therapy.