Smurfl regulates macrophage proliferation, apoptosis and migration via JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathways

Smad ubiquitylation regulatory factor 1 (Smurfl) has been identified to play a critical role in bone homeostasis, development, cell cycle regulation and tumorigenesis. However, the role of Smurfl in macrophage proliferation, apoptosis and migration is still unclear. Here, we show that Smurfl expression was elevated in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). And we found that knockdown of Smurfl suppresses macrophage proliferation but promotes apoptosis and migration. Furthermore, JNK and p38 MAPK signaling were upregulated in Smurfl-depleted cells. And inhibition of JNK and p38 MAPK signaling in Smurfl knockdown cells rescue the phenotypes of macrophage proliferation, apoptosis and migration. Therefore, our study suggests that Smurfl is a new positive regulator for macrophage proliferation and apoptosis, but a negative regulator for macrophage migration.