Visualizing lymph vascular-epithelial niches in 3D cell cultures and organoids

Tissues consist of a complex community of cells working together. In recent years, the culture of different cell types in three-dimensional structures has made it possible to recreate aspects of tissue physiology mimicking real tissue microenvironment. One critical step in the process is to incorporate blood vessels to the cultures, and very few studies include lymph vessels. We are developing lymph-epithelial three-dimensional culture systems to investigate cell-patterning processes governed by the lymph vasculature. The support of the Carlsberg Foundation will allow us to visualize these cell populations using fluorescence microscopy, thus allowing our research to provide a technological advance to study how the lymph vessels partake in tissue development, function, aging and disease.