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Lymphatic endothelial differentiation: start out with Sox - carry on with Prox

Friedemann Kiefer1 and Ralf H Adams2,3*

Author Affiliations

1 Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Vascular Cell Biology, D-48149 Münster, Germany

2 Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Tissue Morphogenesis, D-48149 Münster, Germany

3 University of Münster, Faculty of Medicine, D-48149 Münster, Germany

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Genome Biology 2008, 9:243 doi:10.1186/gb-2008-9-12-243

Published: 29 December 2008

Abstract

The transcription factor Prox1 is the master regulator of lymphatic endothelial cell differentiation and its expression initiates the morphogenesis of the lymphatic vasculature in the early embryo. Two new studies now answer some fundamental questions concerning Prox1 biology.