Lymphatic vessel activation reduces edema during acute skin inflammation. (A) K14-VEGF-C (●, n = 7), K14-VEGF-D (●, n = 8) Tg mice, and their wild-type littermates (□, n = 12) were painted with 2% oxazolone and challenged, 5 days later, with 1% oxazolone on the ears. The ear thickness of K14-VEGF-C and K14-VEGF-D Tg mice was significantly reduced compared with wild-type controls at the indicated time points. (B) K14-VEGF-C (●, n = 7), K14-VEGF-D (●, n = 5) Tg mice, and their wild-type littermates (□, n = 11) were irradiated with 200 mJ/cm² UVB light, and the ear thickness was measured using calipers. The ear thickness of K14-VEGF-C and K14-VEGF-D Tg mice was significantly reduced compared with wild-type controls until day 8 after UVB irradiation. (A-B) Data are mean ± SEM. *P ≤ .05. **P ≤ .01. ***P ≤ .001. (C-E) Hematoxylin and eosin stains of untreated mouse ears (C), at day 2 after oxazolone challenge (2-day oxa, D) or UVB irradiation (2-day UVB, E) revealed reduced edema in inflamed K14-VEGF-C and K14-VEGF-D Tg mice, compared with inflamed skin of wild-type mice. One ear-half is shown. Bars represent 100 μm.