Effect of the alteration of Tribbles homologue 3 expression on epithelial‑mesenchymal transition of transforming growth factor β1‑induced mouse alveolar epithelial cells through the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway

The aims of the present study were to elucidate the regulatory effect of exogenous Tribbles homologue 3 (TRB3) expression on the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT) in transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1)‑induced mouse alveolar epithelial cells (MLE‑12) and investigate the underlying regulatory mechanisms. TRB3 expression was upregulated and downregulated using gene overexpression and RNA interference techniques, respectively. TGF‑β1‑stimulated MLE‑12 cells were examined for EMT and activation condition of the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway using Cell Counting Kit‑8, flow cytometry, western blotting, reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, ELISA and immunofluorescence techniques. During TGF‑β1‑induced EMT, TRB3 expression was found to be significantly upregulated (P