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Frontiers of Medicine >> 2015, Volume 9, Issue 4 doi: 10.1007/s11684-015-0424-9

Emerging roles of podoplanin in vascular development and homeostasis

1. Department of Non-Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 310051, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
3. Cardiovascular Biology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, OK 73104, USA

Accepted: 2015-10-26 Available online: 2015-11-26

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Abstract

Podoplanin (PDPN) is a mucin-type O-glycoprotein expressed in diverse cell types, such as lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in the vascular system and fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) in lymph nodes. PDPN on LECs or FRCs activates CLEC-2 in platelets, triggering platelet activation and/or aggregation through downstream signaling events, including activation of Syk kinase. This mechanism is required to initiate and maintain separation of blood and lymphatic vessels and to stabilize high endothelial venule integrity within lymph nodes. In the vascular system, normal expression of PDPN at the LEC surface requires transcriptional activation of Pdpn by Prox1 and modification of PDPN with core 1-derived O-glycans. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the roles of PDPN in vascular development and lymphoid organ maintenance and discusses the mechanisms that regulate PDPN expression related to its function.

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