[HTML][HTML] NOTCH3 regulates stem-to–mural cell differentiation in infantile hemangioma

AK Edwards, K Glithero, P Grzesik, AA Kitajewski… - JCI insight, 2017 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
AK Edwards, K Glithero, P Grzesik, AA Kitajewski, NCO Munabi, K Hardy, QK Tan…
JCI insight, 2017ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a vascular tumor that begins with rapid vascular proliferation
shortly after birth, followed by vascular involution in early childhood. We have found that
NOTCH3, a critical regulator of mural cell differentiation and maturation, is expressed in
hemangioma stem cells (HemSCs), suggesting that NOTCH3 may function in HemSC-to–
mural cell differentiation and pathological vessel stabilization. Here, we demonstrate that
NOTCH3 is expressed in NG2+ PDGFRβ+ perivascular HemSCs and CD31+ GLUT1+ …
Abstract
Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a vascular tumor that begins with rapid vascular proliferation shortly after birth, followed by vascular involution in early childhood. We have found that NOTCH3, a critical regulator of mural cell differentiation and maturation, is expressed in hemangioma stem cells (HemSCs), suggesting that NOTCH3 may function in HemSC-to–mural cell differentiation and pathological vessel stabilization. Here, we demonstrate that NOTCH3 is expressed in NG2+ PDGFRβ+ perivascular HemSCs and CD31+ GLUT1+ hemangioma endothelial cells (HemECs) in proliferating IHs and becomes mostly restricted to the αSMA+ NG2 lo PDGFRβ lo mural cells in involuting IHs. NOTCH3 knockdown in HemSCs inhibited in vitro mural cell differentiation and perturbed αSMA expression. In a mouse model of IH, NOTCH3 knockdown or systemic expression of the NOTCH3 inhibitor, NOTCH3 Decoy, significantly decreased IH blood flow, vessel caliber, and αSMA+ perivascular cell coverage. Thus, NOTCH3 is necessary for HemSC-to–mural cell differentiation, and adequate perivascular cell coverage of IH vessels is required for IH vessel stability.
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