Crohn’s disease (CD) is a gastrointestinal disorder of unknown etiology. CD-specific longitudinal ulcers show an association between disease pathogenesis and vasculature dysfunction. Granulomatous lymphangitis may also contribute to CD pathogenesis; meanwhile, vasculitis is the primary CD lesion. We investigated the association between granulomas and lymphatic and blood vessels to assess the role of vasculature in CD pathogenesis. Two small and large intestine specimens were obtained from four CD patients. From each specimen, 160 sequential sections were obtained and double immunohistochemical stained to label lymphatic and blood vessels in association with granulomas. We found that 289 of 342 granulomas (85%) were associated with a lymphatic vessel and 313 of 364 granulomas (86%) were associated with a blood vessel. Although intrablood vessel granulomas were not detected, intralymphatic vessel granulomas were. In the internal region of the granuloma, we found more blood vessels than lymphatic vessels. Hence, these results cumulatively demonstrate that CD epithelioid cell granulomas are differentially associated with lymphatic and blood vessels, suggesting both as essential for the formation and maintenance of these granulomas. Moreover, both lymphatic and blood vessels may participate in granulomatous inflammation in the primary CD lesions; however, additional studies with larger numbers of participants are required to validate our findings.

克罗恩病 (CD) 是一种病因不明的胃肠道疾病。CD 特异性纵向溃疡显示疾病发病机制与脉管系统功能障碍之间存在关联。肉芽肿性淋巴管炎也可能与 CD 发病有关。同时，血管炎是 CD 的主要病变。我们研究了肉芽肿与淋巴管和血管之间的关联，以评估脉管系统在 CD 发病机制中的作用。两个小肠和大肠标本来自四名 CD 患者。从每个标本中，获得 160 个连续切片并进行双重免疫组织化学染色以标记与肉芽肿相关的淋巴和血管。我们发现 342 个肉芽肿中有 289 个（85%）与淋巴管相关，364 个肉芽肿中有 313 个（86%）与血管相关。虽然未检测到血管内肉芽肿，但检测到淋巴管内肉芽肿。在肉芽肿的内部区域，我们发现血管多于淋巴管。因此，这些结果累积证明 CD 上皮样细胞肉芽肿与淋巴管和血管有差异，表明两者对于这些肉芽肿的形成和维持都是必不可少的。此外，淋巴和血管都可能参与原发 CD 病变的肉芽肿性炎症；然而，需要更多参与者的额外研究来验证我们的发现。这些结果累积表明，CD 上皮样细胞肉芽肿与淋巴管和血管存在差异，表明两者对于这些肉芽肿的形成和维持都是必不可少的。此外，淋巴和血管都可能参与原发 CD 病变的肉芽肿性炎症；然而，需要更多参与者的额外研究来验证我们的发现。这些结果累积表明，CD 上皮样细胞肉芽肿与淋巴管和血管存在差异，表明两者对于这些肉芽肿的形成和维持都是必不可少的。此外，淋巴和血管都可能参与原发 CD 病变的肉芽肿性炎症；然而，需要更多参与者的额外研究来验证我们的发现。