TRIM37 inhibits PDGF-BB-induced proliferation and migration of airway smooth muscle cells

Tripartite motif 37 (TRIM37) belongs to the TRIM family of proteins and has been reported to be involved in the progression of asthma. However, the effects of TRIM37 on airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) proliferation and migration are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of TRIM37 on cell proliferation and migration in platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB)-stimulated ASMCs, and the potential molecular mechanisms was also explored. Our data demonstrated that the expression of TRIM37 was significantly decreased in ASMCs stimulated with PDGF-BB. In addition, overexpression of TRIM37 efficiently suppressed PDGF-BB-induced ASMCs proliferation and migration. Furthermore, overexpression of TRIM37 obviously inhibited the protein expression levels of β-catenin, c-Myc and cyclinD1 in PDGF-BB-stimulated ASMCs. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway activator LiCl significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of TRIM37 on cell proliferation and migration in PDGF-BB-stimulated ASMCs. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TRIM37 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of ASMCs cultured with PDGF-BB through suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.