07 Jul Understanding the Regression of Infantile Hemangiomas: A Major Discovery Involving Telocytes

A recent study, published in PNAS and conducted by BRIC researchers in Team 5.2 (Cutaneous Lymphomas, Vascular Tumors, Tissue Engineering, co-led by Marie Beylot-Barry and Laurence Bresson-Bepoldin), sheds light on a key mechanism in the regression of infantile hemangiomas. These benign vascular tumors, which are common in infants, resolve spontaneously in most cases, but the underlying mechanisms remained poorly understood. The results of this study, titled “Telocyte-derived Pentraxin 3 enables vascular pruning: a key driver of infantile hemangioma regression,” were presented as part of the “Ma recherche en capsule” podcast by the SBM Department at the University of Bordeaux.

This project was conducted under the direction of Dr. François Moisana researcher, and formed the basis of Léa Pechtimaldjian’s thesis, which she defended in December 2025, in collaboration with Aquiderm and teams from the Bordeaux University Hospital.

A New Role for Telocytes and Pentraxin 3

Researchers have shown that telocytes—interstitial cells found in tissues—play a central role in the regression of hemangiomas. These cells secrete Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), a protein that promotes the elimination of excess blood vessels, a process known as “vascular pruning.” This mechanism is key to explaining the gradual disappearance of hemangiomas in children.

This discovery opens up promising therapeutic prospects for cases in which hemangiomas do not regress spontaneously or lead to complications.

Thank you to the study’s funders

This research received financial support from the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Société de Recherche en Dermatologie, Société Française de Dermatologie, Ligue Contre le Cancer- comité Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the BMS laboratory.