Overexpression of microRNA-204-5p alleviates renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice through blockage of Fas/FasL pathway
Authors: Junxu Li
Yunfeng Zhu
Lei Zhang
Xiaohui Yin
Journal: Experimental Cell Research (2019)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Blood urea nitrogen; Creatinine; Fas/FasL pathway; Glutathione peroxidase; Malondialdehyde
Affiliations: Department of Emergency Medicine, Linyi City People's Hospital, Linyi, 276000, PR China., Department of Kidney Medicine, Linyi City People's Hospital, No. 27, Eastern Section of Jiefang Road, Linyi, 276000, PR China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  The multiple roles of microRNA-204-5p (miR-204-5p) in numerous types of cancer have been reported, but its function in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (RIRI) remains unclear. In this study, we aim to explore whether miR-204-5p was implicated in the RIRI in mice via regulating the Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) pathway. Firstly, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was used to screen RIRI-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Then, RIRI mouse model was established, and the role of miR-204-5p and FasL in RIRI was explored by ectopic expression, depletion and reporter assay experiments. The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) levels in serum, as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in renal tissues of mice were also measured. Afterwards, the regulatory role of miR-204-5p on Fas/FasL pathway in RIRI was investigated. Renal tissues from RIRI mice showed lower miR-204-5p expression and higher Fas and FasL expression. FasL was identified as a direct target gene of miR-204-5p. In addition, the increased levels of BUN, Scr and MDA, as well as decreased levels of SOD and GSH-Px in RIRI mice were reversed by elevation of miR-204-5p and blockage of the Fas/FasL pathway. Taken together, this study demonstrated that increased miR-204-5p might suppress RIRI in mice through suppressing Fas/FasL pathway by targeting FasL. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 Fig 2D,  expression of Fas and FasL in the renal tissues of RIRI mice determined by Western blot analysis .  Here is a montage of curious Western Blots I collected, representing a distinct style. 2D appears to be drawn from the same gamut. Is it possible for the authors to upload or link to a scan of the original blot, to allay any concerns? Bands in this style are marked by high contrast and an absence of any background texture, and resemble ink blobs. They are not always sharp-edged; sometimes the ink appears to have spread, creating filaments. When there are double bands (ERK 1 2, JNK 1 2, LC3 I II, the sub-bands are somehow decoupled: differing in overall profile and in the width of the protein blobs, and with horizontal displacements, almost falling into different lanes. The papers that contain them tend to be problematic in other ways (some have been retracted). Their manifestations began in 2019 papers, and stopped in 2020 as if their use became deprecated.  Sources include - [He et al (2020)] - [Chang et al (2020)] - [Shang et al (2020)] - [Shi et al (2019)] *[RETRACTED]* - [Xu et al (2019)] *[RETRACTED]* - [Jia et al (2020)] - [Feng et al (2019)] Examples could be multiplied but I will settle for three more examples, to show the range of this gamut, from - [Qu et al (2019)] *[RETRACTED]* - [Song et al (2019)] *[RETRACTED]* - [Shi et al (2019)] .  , 
 Expression of Concern, [7 March 2022] .  The journal would like to alert the readers that the authors expressed concerns regarding some of the statistical methods used in their paper. The journal has reached out to the authors and asked them to provide detailed information about exactly which experiments are not reproducible, the results of the new analyses, and which conclusions of the paper might be affected. Since the journal has not received a satisfactory explanation, we are issuing an expression of concern about the reliability of the article. ,