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Lymphatic Endothelium and Kaposi's Sarcoma Spindle Cells Detected by Antibodies against the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3¹

Molecular/Cancer Biology Laboratory and Department of Pathology [L. J., R. V., T. A. P., P. H., A. K., K. A.], and Department of Immunology and Bacteriology and Transplantation Laboratory [R. R., R. A.], Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; Department of Oncology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00029 Finland [P. S.]; Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland [M-T. M.]; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129 [M. D.]; and Department of Dermatology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria [E. T.]

Lymphatic vessels have been difficult to study in detail in normal and tumor tissues because of the lack of molecular markers. Here, monoclonal antibodies against the extracellular domain of the vascular endothelial growth factor-C receptor that we have named VEGFR-3 were found to specifically stain endothelial cells of lymphatic vessels and vessels around tumors such as lymphoma and in situ breast carcinoma. Interestingly, the spindle cells of several cutaneous nodular AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcomas and the endothelium around the nodules were also VEGFR-3 positive. The first specific molecular marker for the lymphatic endothelium should provide a useful tool for the analysis of lymphatic vessels in malignant tumors and their metastases and the cellular origin and differentiation of Kaposi's sarcomas.

¹ This work was supported by the Finnish Cancer Research Foundation, The Finnish Academy of Sciences, EU grants BMH4-CT96-0669 and CT98-3380 from the Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Funds, and the Finnish Medical Foundation (to L. J.).

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Molecular/Cancer Biology Laboratory and Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland. Phone: 358-9-1912 6434; Fax: 358-9-1912 6448.

Received 12/29/97. Accepted 3/ 2/98.

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