E-selectin is present in proliferating endothelial cells in human hemangiomas.

E-selectin, an endothelial-cell-specific leukocyte adhesion molecule, may also function in angiogenesis. To investigate its role in a noninflammatory angiogenic disease, E-selectin was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in specimens of proliferative phase and involutive phase hemangiomas. Hemangioma is an endothelial cell tumor of capillary blood vessels that grows rapidly during infancy and regresses spontaneously during childhood. E-selectin expression was high in proliferative phase specimens and was co-localized with dividing microvascular endothelial cells. Relative to the number of blood vessels, E-selectin declined significantly in involutive phase specimens demonstrating that E-selectin correlates with angiogenesis in the tumors. E-selectin was not detected in quiescent endothelium but was co-localized in dividing microvascular endothelial cells in placenta and neonatal foreskin, two tissues with ongoing growth of microvessels. These in vivo studies support the hypothesis that E-selectin functions in angiogenesis and suggest that E-selectin may be a marker for proliferating endothelium.