Long non-coding RNA TCF7 contributes to the growth and migration of airway smooth muscle cells in asthma through targeting TIMMDC1/Akt axis

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been revealed to participate in cellular biological processes in multiple diseases, including asthma. Nevertheless, the role of lncRNA TCF7 (lncTCF7) in airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) is still covered. Methods: The expression of lncTCF7 and TIMMDC1 in ASMCs from 12 asthma patients and 12 healthy controls were detected using qRT-PCR. Then MTT assay, EdU assay and transwell assay were conducted respectively to assess the impact of lncTCF7 on ASMCs viability, proliferation and migration. Besides, western blotting was performed to determine the protein levels of TIMMDC1 and AKT/p-AKT. Results: We discovered that lncTCF7 and TIMMDC1 were upregulated in asthma groups and lncTCF7 improved ASMCs viability/proliferation and migration. In addition, lncTCF7 regulated TIMMDC1 expression indeed and PDGF-BB treated ASMCs exhibited elevated levels of lncTCF7 and TIMMDC1. Moreover, lncTCF7 suppression diminished both the mRNA and protein levels of TIMMDC1 and markedly reduced p-AKT level which could be enhanced under TIMMDC1 overexpression. Finally, both TIMMDC1 overexpression and ART activator could restored the inhibitory impacts of lncTCF7 silence on PDGF-BB treated ASMCs. Conclusion: Our study uncovered that lncTCF7 facilitated human ASMCs growth and migration via targeting TIMMDC1 thus activating AKT signaling, providing a novel possible target for asthma therapy. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.