Background-Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) can cause significant morbidity during proliferation, yet there is no FDA-approved treatment. IHs are believed to form from stem cells (HemSCs), which differentiate towards an endothelial cell (HemECs) phenotype. Recently, propranolol has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of complicated IHs. We hypothesize that propranolol facilitates IH involution by altering cellular behavior in both HemECs and HemSCs.
Background Infantile hemangiomas are the most common tumor of infancy, yet there are no FDA-approved therapeutics to date. Recently, the non-selective beta-adrenergic-blocker propranolol has been shown to be a safe and effective means of treating infantile hemangiomas, though its mechanism has yet to be elucidated. We have previously demonstrated that propranolol induces early and incomplete adipogenesis in stem cells derived from hemangiomas. We hypothesize that propranolol promotes dysregulated adipogenesis via the improper regulation of adipogenic genes. Methods Hemangioma stem cells isolated from resected infantile hemangioma specimens were treated with adipogenic medium for 1 or 4 days in either propranolol or vehicle. Cell death was measured by the incorporation of annexin V and propidium iodide by flow cytometry. Adipogenesis was assessed by visualizing lipid droplet formation by Oil Red O staining. Pro-adipogenic genes C/EBPβ, C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, PPARδ, PPARγ, RXRα, and RXRγ were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. Results Hemangioma stem cells treated with propranolol increased lipid droplet formation compared to vehicle-treated cells indicating increased adipogenesis. Cell death as measured by FACS analysis indicated that the propranolol-treated cells died due to necrosis and not apoptosis. During adipogenesis, transcript levels of PPARδ, PPARγ, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPδ were significantly increased (p < 0.01) in propranolol-treated cells relative to control cells. In contrast, RXRα and RXRγ levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), and C/EBPα, a gene required for terminal adipocyte differentiation, was strongly suppressed by propranolol when compared to vehicle-treated cells (p < 0.01). Conclusions In hemangioma stem cells, propranolol accelerated dysregulated adipogenic differentiation characterized by improper adipogenic gene expression. Consistent with accelerated adipogenesis, propranolol significantly increased the expression of the pro-adipogenic genes, PPARγ , C/EBPβ and C/EBPγ compared to control. However, propranolol treatment also led to improper induction of PPARδ and suppression of C/EBPα, RXRα and RXRγ. Taken together this data indicates that propranolol promoted dysregulated adipogenesis and inhibited the hemangioma stem cells from becoming functional adipocytes, ultimately resulting in cell death. Understanding this mechanism behind propranolol's effectiveness will be a vital factor in producing more effective therapies in the future.
BackgroundInfantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumor of infancy, yet their pathogenesis is poorly understood. IHs are believed to originate from a progenitor cell, the hemangioma stem cell (HemSC). Recent studies by our group showed that NOTCH proteins and NOTCH ligands are expressed in hemangiomas, indicating Notch signaling may be active in IHs. We sought to investigate downstream activation of Notch signaling in hemangioma cells by evaluating the expression of the basic HLH family proteins, HES/HEY, in IHs.Materials and MethodsHemSCs and hemangioma endothelial cells (HemECs) are isolated from freshly resected hemangioma specimens. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to probe for relative gene transcript levels (normalized to beta-actin). Immunofluorescence was performed to evaluate protein expression. Co-localization studies were performed with CD31 (endothelial cells) and NOTCH3 (peri-vascular, non-endothelial cells). HemSCs were treated with the gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI) Compound E, and gene transcript levels were quantified with real-time PCR.ResultsHEY1, HEYL, and HES1 are highly expressed in HemSCs, while HEY2 is highly expressed in HemECs. Protein expression evaluation by immunofluorescence confirms that HEY2 is expressed by HemECs (CD31+ cells), while HEY1, HEYL, and HES1 are more widely expressed and mostly expressed by perivascular cells of hemangiomas. Inhibition of Notch signaling by addition of GSI resulted in down-regulation of HES/HEY genes.ConclusionsHES/HEY genes are expressed in IHs in cell type specific patterns; HEY2 is expressed in HemECs and HEY1, HEYL, HES1 are expressed in HemSCs. This pattern suggests that HEY/HES genes act downstream of Notch receptors that function in distinct cell types of IHs. HES/HEY gene transcripts are decreased with the addition of a gamma-secretase inhibitor, Compound E, demonstrating that Notch signaling is active in infantile hemangioma cells.
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78 lipoproteoplex by incorporating varying CSP:siRNA ratios into a standardized CLN and treated 3T3 fibroblasts to assess gene expression changes. Cellular internalization of fluorescent siRNA (siGLO) packaged in lipoproteoplex was visualized with fluorescent microscopy. In vivo, we applied lipoproteoplex with siGLO or siRNA to the skin of C57BL/6 mice. We then measured biodistribution via IVIS imaging, dermal penetration using histological sections, and gene expression in treated skin and internal organs 0-5 days post-treatment.
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