ANKRD37 inhibits trophoblast migration and invasion by regulating the NF‐κB pathway in preeclampsia

Background Inadequate trophoblast invasion is associated with preeclampsia (PE). Ankyrin repeat domain protein 37 (ANKRD37) has been reported to be abnormally expressed in PE placentas. However, the role of ANKRD37 in trophoblasts has not been investigated. We aimed to determine the functions of ANKRD37 in PE and to explore the molecular mechanisms. Methods Here, fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction were used to detect protein and mRNA expression levels. Cell counting kit‐8 assay, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, transwell assay and RNA sequencing were performed to investigate the role of ANKRD37 and the underlying mechanism in HTR8/SVneo and JEG‐3 cells, and extravillous explant cultures were used to evaluate the migration and invasion abilities of extravillous cytotrophoblasts. Results We found that ANKRD37 expression was upregulated in PE placentas compared to normal pregnancy placentas. ANKRD37 knockdown enhanced trophoblast migration and invasion, promoted extravillous explant outgrowth, and regulated the expression of key invasion proteins, whereas ANKRD37 overexpression exerted the opposite effects. RNA sequencing indicated that nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) was the potential downstream pathway of ANKRD37, which was confirmed by the change in p‐p65 and p‐IκBα expression in JEG‐3 and HTR8/SVneo cells. Conclusions Our findings suggest that high expression of ANKRD37 inhibits trophoblast cell migration and invasion possibly via the NF‐κB pathway, and may be related to the development of PE. Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the most feared complications of pregnancy and inadequate trophoblast invasion plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PE. The present study found that ankyrin repeat domain protein 37 (ANKRD37) inhibited trophoblast migration and invasion via the NF‐ĸB pathway possibly. The study is the first to investigate the biological function of ANKRD37 and provides new targets for PE therapy.