Differentiation and Pro-Angiogenic Potential of Infantile Hemangioma Stem Cells

ABSTRACT Objectives Infantile hemangioma (IH) is defined as a benign vascular tumor composed of immature vascular endothelial cells, with the unique characteristics of rich vascularization and self-regression into fibro-fatty tissue. CD133-positive hemangioma stem cells (HemSCs), present in the proliferating IH tissue, can be used to establish the IH animal model, which has highlighted the pathogenesis of IH in recent years. This study focused on the biological characteristics and differentiation capacity of HemSCs and aimed to provide a theoretical possibility for its application in tissue engineering. Methods To further confirm our hypothesis, we used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), in vitro multipotent induced differentiation, angiogenesis assay, and antibody array to identify the surface markers, multipotent differential potential, angiogenesis potential, and secreted factors of HemSCs, respectively, utilizing human adipose stem cells(hADSCs) as the control. Results We successfully isolated and cultured HemSCs. FACS indicated that, on average, more than 80% of HemSCs matched the criteria of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) surface markers. Our results confirmed that HemSCs could differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes. Additionally, compared with fibroblasts or hADSCs, HemSCs could promote angiogenesis through para-secretion. Conclusions HemSCs may originate from normal MSCs, and owing to their powerful proliferative and angiogenic abilities, they could be considered an IH pathogenic factor. These characteristics demonstratet heir potential as a candidate seed cell in tissue engineering.