"During acute microbial infection, lymphatic flow is increased in the infected tissue, limiting edema as well as providing more soluble microbial antigens and antigen-laden dendritic cells into the regional lymph nodes for antigen-presentation. The authors have proposed that dysfunction of the lymphatics leads to the persistence of immune cells and mediators in the tissue (Fig. 1). This leads to chronic inflammation and tissue damage by immunopathology, whereas the lymphostasis might confine pathogens locally, limiting systemic spread of the microbes. This theory is based on experimental findings by Dr Alexander's group and others; for example, Al-Kofahi et al. have shown that dysfunction of lymphatic vessels can contribute to prolonged inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as myocarditis using a mouse model induced with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus."
NOTE: This one is simply to keep in mind, and to keep in the files, as we wait for more research to come forth.
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