Faculty Collaboration Database

Somatic mutation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors in juvenile hemangioma. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2002 Mar;33(3):295-303

Date

01/25/2002

Pubmed ID

11807987

DOI

10.1002/gcc.10028

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0036159440 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   179 Citations

Abstract

Juvenile hemangiomas are the most common tumors of infancy, occurring in as many as 10% of all births. These benign vascular lesions enlarge rapidly during the first year of life by hyperplasia of endothelial cells and attendant pericytes and then spontaneously involute over a period of years, leaving loose fibrofatty tissue. Several hypotheses have been put forth concerning hemangiogenesis, including the possibility that the tumor is the result of somatic mutation in one or more components of critical vascular growth-regulatory pathways. To test this hypothesis, we obtained 15 proliferative-phase hemangiomas after surgical resection and dissected them to enrich for the lesional (endothelial and pericytic) components of each specimen. To determine whether hemangiomas represent a clonal expansion from a single progenitor cell, we assayed X-inactivation patterns for each lesion by using the polymorphic X-linked human androgen receptor gene. Twelve of 14 informative hemangiomas showed a significant degree of allelic loss after methylation-based and transcription-based polymerase chain reaction clonality assays, suggesting a nonrandom X-inactivation pattern and, thus, a monoclonal origin. We then sequenced genes encoding the receptors of the vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) as candidates for potential somatic mutation. Mutations were found in two of the 15 hemangioma specimens: a missense mutation (P1147S) in the kinase domain of the VEGFR2 (FLK1/KDR) gene in one specimen and a missense mutation (P954S) in the kinase insert of the VEGFR3 (FLT4) gene in another specimen. In each case, the mutation was detected in tumor tissue but not in adjacent normal tissue. These results suggest that one potential mechanism involved in hemangioma formation is the alteration of the VEGF signaling pathway in endothelial and/or pericytic cells.

Author List

Walter JW, North PE, Waner M, Mizeracki A, Blei F, Walker JW, Reinisch JF, Marchuk DA

Author

Paula E. North MD, PhD Professor in the Pathology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Clone Cells
Extracellular Matrix Proteins
Female
Hemangioma
Humans
Infant
Mutation
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Neuropilin-1
Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Receptors, Growth Factor
Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3