Direct specification of lymphatic endothelium from non-venous angioblasts

Abstract

The lymphatic vasculature is essential for tissue fluid homeostasis, immune cell surveillance and dietary lipid absorption, and has emerged as a key regulator of organ growth and repair¹. Despite significant advances in our understanding of lymphatic function, the precise developmental origin of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) has remained a point of debate for over a century^2-5. It is currently widely accepted that most LECs are derived from venous endothelium^4,6, although other sources have been described, including mesenchymal cells³, hemogenic endothelium⁷ and musculoendothelial progenitors^8,9. Here we show that the initial expansion of mammalian LECs is driven primarily by the in situ differentiation of specialized angioblasts and not migration from venous endothelium. Single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic lineage tracing experiments in mouse revealed a population of Etv2⁺Prox1⁺ lymphangioblasts that arise directly from paraxial mesoderm-derived progenitors. Conditional lineage labelling and morphological analyses showed that these specialized angioblasts emerge within a tight spatiotemporal window, and give rise to LECs in numerous tissues. Analysis of early LEC proliferation and migration supported these findings, suggesting that emergence of LECs from venous endothelium is limited. Collectively, our data reconcile discrepancies between previous studies and indicate that LECs form through both de novo specification from lymphangioblasts and transdifferentiation from venous endothelium.