Gwendalyn Randolph Ph.D., Emil R. Unanue Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, will present  “Lymphatics and microphages: regulators of the interstitial microenvironment,”

Abstract: Much interest lies in the immune microenvironment and how this is shaped in different organs and tissue settings. Microenvironments are comprised not only of the cells that populate a given tissue but also the space between cells (the interstitium). Macrophages play a key role as secretagogues and as cells that clear molecules and debris, thereby critically impacting the microenvironment. Lymphatic vessels, likewise, play a key role in passage or dispersal of molecules between cells and in the clearance from organs, as lymphatics are a prime regulator of “interstitial flow”. Together, macrophages and lymphatics may be seen as a system specialized for “clearance” of signals ranging from inflammatory mediators to pathogens and physiological mediators. This seminar will highlight published and unpublished inflammatory scenarios that advance our understanding of how macrophages and lymphatic vessels respectively maintain immune microenvironments.