Downregulation of miR-637 promotes proliferation and metastasis by targeting Smad3 in keloids

Keloids are a type of abnormal scar tissue. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) exhibit a pivotal role in the regulation of cell proliferation and metastasis of keloids. miRNA microarray revealed that miR-637 was one of the most frequently altered miRNAs in keloids. Furthermore, upregulation of miR-637 inhibited cell proliferation and metastasis by targeting mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (Smad)3, one of the important proteins that affects the formation of keloids. Further studies demonstrated that miR-637 regulated the proliferation and metastasis of human keloid fibroblast (HKF) cells by mediating the Smad3 signaling pathway. Overall, the present findings suggest that miR-637 may be a promising therapeutic target in keloids.