Abstract
Objective Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors in infancy. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of propranolol on the function of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), in order to preliminarily elucidate the mechanism of propranolol in the treatment of IHs. Methods HUVECs were treated with different concentrations of propranolol (30 μM, 60 μM, 90 μM, and 120 μM) with or without VEGF. Their proliferation, migration, invasion, adhesion, and tube formation ability were tested by using CCK-8, wound healing assay, transwell, cell adhesion assay, and tube formation assay. The expressions of HUVECs angiogenesis signaling molecules pERK/ERK, pAKT/AKT, p-mTOR/mTOR, and pFAK/FAK were detected by Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, propranolol could significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion, adhesion, and tube formation of HUVECs. Further studies showed that it could not only inhibit the migration, invasion, and tube formation ability of HUVECs after VEGF induction but also inhibit the phosphorylated protein expressions of angiogenesis-related signaling molecules like AKT, mTOR, ERK, and FAK in HUVECs, with a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect. Conclusion Propranolol can inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion, adhesion, and tube formation of hemangioma endothelial cells; block VEGF-mediated angiogenesis signaling pathway; suppress the expressions of downstream angiogenesis-related signaling molecules; and ultimately achieve the effect of treatment of IHs.
Highlights
Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors in infants [1]
Compared with the normal control group (NC), 60 μM, 90 μM, and 120 μM propranolol could significantly inhibit the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after treatment for 24 h and 48 h, respectively, with the inhibition rate markedly increasing (Figures 1(a) and 1(b))
The results showed that the higher the concentration of propranolol, the stronger inhibition of HUVECs proliferation is
Summary
Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors in infants [1]. They grow relatively rapidly during the period from birth to 1 year, and gradually most hemangiomas begin to regress spontaneously after 1 year old, but the entire regression process does not stop until the age of 7 to 10 years. IHs are characterized by spontaneous regression, some of them develop so fast that they may cause complications such as infection, ulcers, necrosis, hemorrhage, secondary malformations, and dysfunction [2]. For fast-growing IHs with local or systemic complications, researchers prefer to perform corresponding intervention treatment in the early stage to facilitate the spontaneous regression process and to control the growth of hemangiomas and their invasion of surrounding tissues [5]. The treatment of hemangiomas has been a heated topic in clinical and research
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