Identification of Potential Therapeutics for Infantile Hemangioma via in silico Investigation and in vitro Validation

Introduction: Infantile Hemangioma (IH) is a prevalent benign vascular tumor affecting approximately 5-10% of infants. Its underlying pathogenesis remains enigmatic, and current therapeutic approaches show limited effectiveness. Our study aimed to discover potential IH-associated therapeutics through a transcriptomic, computational drug repurposing methodology.

Methods: Utilizing the IH-specific dataset GSE127487 from the Gene Expression Omnibus, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conducted weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). Subsequently, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to obtain the top 100 hub genes. Drug candidates were sourced from the Connectivity Map (CMap) and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD).

Results: Our analysis revealed 1203 DEGs and a significant module of 1780 mRNAs strongly correlated with IH. These genes were primarily enriched in the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, Ras/MAPK, and CGMP/PKG signaling pathway. After creating a PPI network of overlapping genes, we filtered out the top 100 hub genes. Ultimately, 44 non-toxic drugs were identified through the CMap and CTD databases. Twelve molecular-targeting agents (belinostat, chir 99021, dasatinib, entinostat, panobinostat, sirolimus, sorafenib, sunitinib, thalidomide, U 0126, vorinostat, and wortmannin) may be potential candidates for IH therapy. Moreover, in vitro experiments demonstrated that entinostat, sorafenib, dasatinib, and sirolimus restricted the proliferation and migration and initiated Apoptosis in HemEC cells, thereby underscoring their potential therapeutic value.

Conclusion: Our investigation revealed that the pathogenic mechanism underlying IH might be closely associated with the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, Ras/MAPK, and CGMP/PKG signaling pathways. Furthermore, we identified twelve molecular-targeting agents among the predicted drugs that show promise as therapeutic candidates for IH.

bioinformatics; entinostat; hub gene; infantile hemangioma; sirolimus; transcriptome.