589 N-myc downstream regulated gene 1(NDRG1) promotes proliferation and differentiation of infantile hemangioma cells

Abstract

Infantile hemangioma (IH), the most common vascular tumor in infants, is characterized by during the first weeks to months of a child’s life, followed by a spontaneous involution over 10 years. However, its cellular origin and biological signals for uncontrolled growth are poorly understood, and specific pharmacological treatment is unavailable. Recently, we evaluated differences of mRNA expression and protein levels of FOXO1, NDRG1 and RICTOR between proliferating and involuting IH endothelial cells. We found that FOXO1 was decreased and NDRG1 was increased in IH endothelial cells during proliferation phase. Here, we investigated the effects of NDRG1 and FOXO1 expression in IH endothelial cells. Downregulation of NDRG1 expression in IH endothelial cells by siRNA transfection decreased differentiation of endothelial cells. Increased FOXO1 expression correlated with decreased expression of differentiation markers. Thus, our findings indicate that NDRG1 and FOXO1 are potential targets for regulating IH proliferation.