{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T20:11:17Z","timestamp":1778875877519,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"American Society for Clinical Investigation","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":46,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH","award":["U2C DK133422,TL1 DK139566"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U2C DK133422,TL1 DK139566"]}]},{"name":"VA","award":["5I01BX004047-34003797"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5I01BX004047-34003797"]}]},{"name":"NIH","award":["U54 DK137307"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U54 DK137307"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The lymphatic system maintains fluid homeostasis and orchestrates immune cell trafficking throughout tissues. While extensively studied in cancer and lymphedema, its role in nonlymphoid organs, particularly the kidney, remains an emerging area of investigation. Previous research established molecular connections among NF-\u03baB, VEGFR-3, and PROX-1 in regulating lymphatic growth during inflammation, and studies using global knockout mice revealed that the NF-\u03baB1 subunit (p50) influences lymphatic vessel density. However, the role of RelA \u2014 a key component of the canonical NF-\u03baB heterodimer \u2014 in regulating lymphatic growth and kidney function following acute kidney injury (AKI) remains unexplored. Using an inducible, predominantly lymphatic endothelial cell-specific RelA-knockout mouse model, we demonstrated that RelA expression in VEGFR-3\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    cells is essential for VEGFR-3\u2013driven lymphangiogenesis following AKI. Knockout mice exhibited substantially worse kidney function, altered histological features, impaired VEGFR-3\u2013dependent lymphangiogenesis, and dysregulated immune cell trafficking compared with WT mice. Compensatory upregulation of PROX-1 and podoplanin occurred despite decreased VEGFR-3 and LYVE-1 total protein expression, suggesting complex regulatory mechanisms. Our findings suggest that RelA is a critical sensor for inflammation and regulator of protective lymphangiogenesis following kidney injury and provide insights into potential therapeutic targets for improved kidney injury outcomes.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1172\/jci.insight.198992","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T18:36:22Z","timestamp":1769193382000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["NF-\u03baB\u2013driven lymphangiogenesis affects kidney function via a VEGFR-3\u2013mediated pathway"],"prefix":"10.1172","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Arin L.","family":"Melkonian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine;"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering; and"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7867-0096","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Amie 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