# Defining the role of lymphatic vessels in wound healing

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $12,368

## Abstract

Project summary
The vasculature of the skin behaves as network carrying factors which maintain skin
homeostasis and modify the immune response when injury or damage occurs. When the
vasculature becomes dysfunctional processes like skin wound healing are hindered. The
vasculature consists of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels interacting to provide circulation
and cells crucial for skin health. Vascular dysfunction can be characterized by leavy blood
vessels, decreased immune cell infiltrate at the site of injury, and/or excessive blood vessel
development. My laboratory recently described a role of lymphatic vessels, tasked with shuttling
leukocytes and lymph throughout the skin, in mediating a hypervascular phenotype, coupled
with fibrosis, after skin injury. Lymphatic vessels have been reported as instrumental for skin
repair however the precise function and mechanism of action are not well characterized. We
suggest exploration of not only lymphatic vessel function within the skin but also their interaction
with blood vessels will allow for a conceptualization of how wound healing can be rendered
chronic and unsuccessful and further, how this shift towards an erratic vasculature mediates the
formation of fibrotic, scarred tissue and lymphedema.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10748605
- **Project number:** 3R01AR079232-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Valerie Horsley
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $12,368
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10748605

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10748605, Defining the role of lymphatic vessels in wound healing (3R01AR079232-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10748605. Licensed CC0.

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