Junctional integrity and directional mobility of lymphatic endothelial cell monolayers are disrupted by saturated fatty acids

The lymphatic circulation regulates transfer of tissue fluid and immune cells toward the venous circulation. While obesity impairs lymphatic vessel function, the contribution of lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) to metabolic disease phenotypes is poorly understood. LEC of lymphatic microvessels are in direct contact with the interstitial fluid, whose composition changes during the development of obesity, markedly by increases in saturated fatty acids. Palmitate, the most prevalent saturated fatty acid in lymph and blood, is detrimental to metabolism and function of diverse tissues, but its impact on LEC function is relatively unknown. Here, palmitate (but not its unsaturated counterpart palmitoleate) destabilized adherens junctions in human microvascular LEC in culture, visualized as changes in VE-cadherin, α-catenin, and β-catenin localization. Detachment of these proteins from cortical actin filaments was associated with abundant actomyosin stress fibers. The effects were Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK)- and myosin-dependent, as inhibition with Y27632 or blebbistatin, respectively, prevented stress fiber accumulation and preserved junctions. Without functional junctions, palmitate-treated LEC failed to directionally migrate to close wounds in two dimensions and failed to form endothelial tubes in three dimensions. A reorganization of the lymphatic endothelial actin cytoskeleton may contribute to lymphatic dysfunction in obesity and could be considered as a therapeutic target.