Objective:To investigate the effect of the key glycolysis enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) on the biological activity of hemangioma-derived endothelial cells (HemECs) .Methods:Totally, 4 proliferating infantile hemangioma (IH) tissues and 4 involuting IH tissues were collected. Primary HemECs were isolated from the proliferating IH tissues, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) served as controls. Immunohistochemical study and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the expression of PFKFB3 in the IH tissues and HemECs, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was conducted to evaluate the effect of PFK15 (a specific inhibitor of PFKFB3) at concentrations of 0 - 10 μmol/L on the proliferation of HemECs, and HemECs treated without PFKFB3 served as the control group. Some in vitro cultured HemECs were treated with 5 μmol/L PFK15, and served as a PFK15 intervention group, while HemECs treated without PFK15 served as a control group; then, the migratory ability of HemECs was assessed by Transwell assay, and the apoptosis level of HemECs was detected by flow cytometry. Comparisons between groups were performed by using t test or analysis of variance. Results:Immunohistochemical study showed that the positive rate of PFKFB3 was significantly higher in the proliferating IH tissues (74.34% ± 5.26%) than in the involuting IH tissues (41.46% ± 2.99%, t = 9.40, P < 0.001). Western blot analysis showed that the relative expression level of PFKFB3 was also significantly higher in HemECs (0.73 ± 0.05) than in HUVECs (0.45 ± 0.04, t = 8.50, P < 0.001). CCK8 assay revealed significantly decreased proliferative activity of HemECs in the 0.625-, 1.25-, 2.5-, 5-, and 10-μmol/L PFK15 groups compared with the control group (all P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the PFK15 intervention group showed significantly decreased number of migratory HemECs (297 ± 15 vs. 422 ± 8, t = 12.59, P < 0.001), but significantly increased apoptosis rates of HemECs (6.69% ± 0.64% vs. 0.34% ± 0.07%, t = 17.07, P < 0.001) . Conclusion:The key glycolytic enzyme PFKFB3 was highly expressed in the proliferating IH tissues and HemECs, and the PFKFB3 inhibitor PFK15 could suppress the proliferation, migration, and increase the apoptosis of HemECs.

Objective:To analyze demographic and clinical characteristics of infantile hemangioma (IH) , and to explore related risk factors for IH.Methods:A multicenter case-control study was conducted. IH patients (case group) and healthy children (control group) were collected from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University and Yulin Community Central Hospital of Chengdu from October 2018 to December 2020. The data on patients′ demographic characteristics, and risk factors during their mothers′ pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and perinatal period were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using binary logistic regression.Results:A total of 1 479 patients with IH and 1 086 healthy children were included in this study. There were 456 males and 1 023 females in the case group, with the age being 3.74 ± 2.82 months, and there were 359 males and 727 females in the control group, with the age being 3.95 ± 2.77 months. There was no significant difference in the gender ratio, age, ethnic composition, birth weight or birth height between the case group and control group (all P > 0.05) . IH lesions mostly affected the head and face (564 cases, 38.1%) , followed by the trunk (449 cases, 30.6%) and limbs (356 cases, 24.1%) . At the visit, 1 109 (75.0%) patients presented with proliferating IH, 1 059 (71.6%) with superficial IH, and 1 306 (88.3%) with focal IH. The IH lesion area ranged from 0.01 to 168.00 (6.24 ± 12.91) cm 2, and the segmental IH area ranged from 7.50 to 168.00 (32.17 ± 26.94) cm 2. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed some factors influencing the occurrence of IH (all P < 0.05) , including pre-pregnancy factors (delivery history and miscarriage history) , pregnancy factors (fetal distress, cord entanglement, history of threatened abortion, placenta previa, oligohydramnios, gestational hypothyroidism, gestational anemia, history of progesterone supplementation, history of thyroxine drug use, history of uterus myomas) , and perinatal factors (including fetal position, gestational weeks, premature rupture of membranes and preterm premature rupture of membranes) . Multivariate binary logistic regression adjusted analysis showed that fetal breech presentation, preterm birth, cord entanglement and history of thyroxine drug use during pregnancy did not influence the occurrence of IH (all P > 0.05) ; the delivery history was the strongest independent risk factor for IH (adjusted OR = 5.624, 95% CI: 4.275 to 7.398, P < 0.001) , and gestational hypothyroidism and history of uterus myomas were protective factors for IH. Conclusions:In this study, the average age of IH patients at visit was 4 months, skin lesions mostly occurred on the head and face, and most were superficial and focal in the proliferative stage. The occurrence and development of IH may be associated with placental diseases, hypoxia, maternal hormone levels during pregnancy, etc.

Objective:To investigate the effect of the glucose transporter 1 (Glut-1) inhibitor resveratrol on the activity of infantile hemangioma (IH) -derived endothelial cells (HemEC) .Methods:IH tissues were collected from 4 cases of proliferating IH and 4 cases of involuting IH, and immunohistochemical study was performed to determine the Glut-1 expression. Primary HemEC were extracted from 4 proliferating IH tissues, real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of Glut-1 in HemEC and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) , respectively. HemEC were cultured in vitro and treated with 0 (control group) , 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 μmol/L resveratrol for 24 hours, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was performed to evaluate the proliferative ability of HemEC in the above groups, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated. The migratory ability and apoptosis level of HemEC were assessed by Transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Intergroup comparisons were performed using t test or analysis of variance, and multiple comparisons were performed using least significant difference- t test. Results:Immunohistochemical study showed that Glut-1 was expressed in vascular endothelial cells derived from both proliferating and involuting IH tissues, and the Glut-1 expression was abundant in the proliferating IH but markedly decreased in the involuting IH tissues. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Glut-1 were significantly higher in HemEC (1.793 ± 0.041, 1.959 ± 0.144, respectively) than in HUVEC (0.820 ± 0.073, 0.648 ± 0.046, t = 16.35, 12.28, respectively, both P < 0.001) . After the treatment with Glut-1 inhibitor resveratrol at different concentrations, the proliferative ability of HemEC significantly differed among the control group, 50-, 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-μmol/L resveratrol groups ( F = 1 043.00, P < 0.001) , and was significantly lower in all the resveratrol groups than in the control group (all P < 0.05) . The IC50 of resveratrol was calculated to be 150 μmol/L by using GraphPad Prism 8 software. Transwell assay and flow cytometry showed significantly decreased number of migratory HemEC but significantly increased apoptosis rate respectively in the 150 μmol/L resveratrol group (61 ± 5, 13.01% ± 0.45%, respectively) compared with the control group (150 ± 6, 3.93% ± 0.68%, t = 15.11, 19.34, respectively, both P < 0.001) . Conclusion:The key glycolytic enzyme Glut-1 was highly expressed in proliferating IH tissues and HemEC, and resveratrol could inhibit the proliferation and migration of HemEC, but promote their apoptosis.