Follistatin-like protein 5 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression by inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis and regulating Bcl-2 family proteins
Authors: Yujing Zhang
Chunlei Li
Lin Cheng
Shuang Zhang
Yuquan Wei
Fuyi Cheng
Hongxin Deng
Junfeng Zhang
Lei Dai
Dechao Yu
Hongwei Tian
Yang Yang
Xin Zhang
Xiaolan Su
Qingnan Wang
Yi Lin
Yuan Wang
Qianmei Yang
Gang Shi
Journal: Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (2018)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Bcl-2 family proteins; FSTL5; apoptosis; caspase.
Affiliations: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China., Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medicine, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Wanzhou, Chongqing, China., Institute of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong, China.

Abstract:  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadly malignant tumors in the world, especially in China. Follistatin-like protein 5 (FSTL5) is a member of the FSTL family, which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and embryo development. We aimed to investigate the function and underlying mechanism of FSTL5 in HCC. FSTL5 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry staining in a liver cancer tissue microarray (TMA) and the correlation between FSTL5 and the prognosis of HCC patients was analysed. Further proliferation assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and xenograft tumor model were performed to investigate the bioeffects of FSTL5 in HCC in vitro and in vivo. We found that FSTL5 expression was downregulated in HCC tissues and positively correlated with the prognosis of patients with HCC at tumor node metastasis stage I/II. Overexpression of FSTL5 efficiently impaired HCC growth both in vivo and in vitro with an exogenous manner. Mechanistic investigation demonstrated that FSTL5 promoted HCC cell apoptosis in a caspase-dependent manner and regulated Bcl-2 family proteins. These results indicate that FSTL5 may be a potential novel target for HCC treatment, and a biomarker for tumor prognosis. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 The beta-actin bands in SMMC7721 group of Fig 6 C and D are mirror images.  , 
 Dear Dr. Aphodius Ictericus Thank you very much for pointing out these errors of Fig 6 in our published work. We have checked our original data and found the mistake. We will contact the editorial department of JCMM as soon as possible to submit the right picture and ask for a corrigendum. Thank you again for helping us to find and correct the mistake. Sincerely yours Hongxin Deng , 
 #2 Dear Dr. Deng: Thank you for your reply. It would be appreciated if you were to also post the raw data here. , 
 In Fig 7A, the WB has splices, see below.  , 
 Dear Dr. Christella Subelata, Thank you very much for pointing out these non-standard processing during the figure preparation. We apologize for it and will more carefully process our data in our future work. Thank you again for helping us. Sincerely yours Hongxin Deng , 
 FIg 7A right hand band has unexpected splice for FSTL5, but not b-actin. Fig 7H has replicates.  , 
 #6 Dear Paraburkholderia Caffeinilytica, Thank you very much for pointing out these non-standard processing during the figure 7A preparation. We apologize for it and will more carefully process our data in our future work. As Fig 7H, I have checked my original data and found that this error was inadvertently made during the preparation of the manuscript. We will contact the editorial department of JCMM as soon as possible to submit the right picture and ask for a corrigendum. Thank you again for helping us to find and correct the mistake. Sincerely yours Chunlei Li. , 
 #6 Still no sign of a correction? There may more overlaps, some with different coloring. *** 7H with recoloring  *** 7H (left) and 7E (this may be intentional)  , 
 April 9, 2021  In Chunlei Li et al., the published article contains errors in Figure 6D, Figure 7A and Figure 7H. The correct figures are shown below. The authors confirm all results, and conclusions of this article remain unchanged.   ,