FOXF1 Was Identified as a Novel Biomarker of Infantile Hemangioma by Weighted Coexpression Network Analysis and Differential Gene Expression Analysis

Background: The most frequent benign tumor in newborns is infantile hemangioma. The majority of infantile hemangiomas has a favorable prognosis and generally fades away on their own. Some people, however, do experience major consequences. Transcriptome alterations in infantile hemangiomas are yet unclear. The use of transcriptome analysis to uncover diagnostic markers for infantile hemangioma has clinical implications.

Methods: The dataset GSE127487 for infantile hemangioma was obtained from the GEO database. The gene set most related with infantile hemangioma was investigated using weighted coexpression network analysis. Differential expression analysis was performed to see whether genes were up or downregulated in infantile hemangiomas. The enrichment of gene sets in pathways or functions is determined via enrichment analysis. Hub genes were discovered via protein-protein interaction network analysis. The relationship between hub genes and immune cells was investigated using immunomicroenvironment analysis.

Results: Turquoise and Pink modules were revealed to be the most linked with infantile hemangioma in a weighted coexpression network analysis (p < 0.001). The genes in the two modules were mostly concentrated in actin filament organization, embryonic organ development, reproductive structure development, cell substrate adhesion, extracellular matrix organization, and so on, according to GO enrichment analysis (p < 0.05). These gene enrichment pathways comprised the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, human papillomavirus infection, focal adhesion, and hepatitis C pathways, according to KEGG enrichment analyzes (p < 0.05). Differential expressed gene analysis showed 43 upregulated and 21 downregulated genes in infantile hemangiomas. We found the gene set most associated to infantile hemangioma by intersecting the elevated genes with the genes acquired by WGCNA, with FOXF1 serving as the hub gene. FOXF1 was linked to the degree of monocyte infiltration, according to immunocorrelation analysis (p < 0.05). B cell memory, dendritic cells resting, macrophage M0, neutrophils, and T cells helper are all negatively connected (p < 0.05). In the FOXF1 hyperexpression group, GSEA analysis revealed that cholesterol homeostasis and cell cycle-associated pathways G2M checkpoint were primarily activated (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: FOXF1 was found to be a reliable biomarker of infantile hemangiomas in our research of transcriptome changes in infantile hemangiomas.