LncRNA PMS2L2 protects ATDC5 chondrocytes against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory injury by sponging miR-203
Authors: Manqiu Yu
Qiang Zhao
Liang Zhao
Haibin Wang
Lei Chen
Xiaoyan Li
Taitao Sun
Journal: Life sciences (2019)
Discipline: BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Keywords: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS); MCL-1; Osteoarthritis; PMS2L2; lncRNA
Affiliations: Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining 272029, China., Department of Trauma Reconstruction, Shandong Wendeng Orthopaedic & Traumatic Hospital, Wendeng 264400, China., Department of Orthopedics, Jining No. 1 People's Hospital, Jining 272011, China., Department of Orthopedics, Jining No. 1 People's Hospital, Jining 272011, China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article ‚Äú‚Ä?the Western blot bands in all 400+ papers are all very regularly spaced and have a smooth appearance in the shape of a dumbbell or tadpole, without any of the usual smudges or stains. All bands are placed on similar looking backgrounds, suggesting they were copy/pasted from other sources, or computer generated‚Ä? the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 This paper belongs to a set of over 400 papers (as per February 2020) that share very similar Western blots with tadpole-like shaped bands, the same background pattern, and striking similarities in title structures, paper layout, bar graph design, and - in a subset - flow cytometry panels. Despite these similarities, these papers are authored by researchers from different departments and institutes, with almost no overlap in authors. The list of these papers is available here: https: docs.google.com spreadsheets d 1KXqTAyl4j-jVorFPMD2XRpr76LcIKJ0CVyIvRj0exYQ edit?usp=sharing A more detailed description of this set of papers, suspected to all be generated by a common source, a paper mill , can be found here: * https: forbetterscience.com 2020 01 24 the-full-service-paper-mill-and-its-chinese-customers (January 2020) * https: scienceintegritydigest.com 2020 02 21 the-tadpole-paper-mill (February 2020) The same paper mill has been described in these papers: * Jana Christopher - Systematic fabrication of scientific images revealed - FEBS Letters (2018) - https: febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com doi full 10.1002 1873-3468.13201 * Jennifer A Byrne and Jana Christopher - Digital magic, or the dark arts of the 21st centuryu2014how can journals and peer reviewers detect manuscripts and publications from paper mills? - FEBS Letters (2020) - https: febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com doi full 10.1002 1873-3468.13747 , 
 Retracted [8 April 2022] . ------------------------ This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article u201cu2026 the Western blot bands in all 400+ papers are all very regularly spaced and have a smooth appearance in the shape of a dumbbell or tadpole, without any of the usual smudges or stains. All bands are placed on similar looking backgrounds, suggesting they were copy pasted from other sources, or computer generatedu201d, the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article. , 
 An investigation by Jining First People s Hospital (the authors institution), released 29 December 2021: https: www.jnrmyy.com keyan kxyj gonggao 2021 1229 6607.html --------------------- 13. The paper  LncRNA PMS2L2 protects ATDC5 chondrocytes against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory injury by sponging was published by Zhao Qiang of our hospital as the corresponding author, Li Xiaoyan of the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College as the first author, and Yu Manqiu of Wendeng Orthopaedic Hospital as the co-first author. miR-203 , after investigation, is an academic misconduct of tampering with data and fabricating the research process. Our hospital will deal with the relevant responsible persons as follows: Zhao Qiang (corresponding author): cancel the application qualifications for scientific research projects, scientific research awards, scientific and technological achievements, scientific and technological talent plans within 5 years; cancel the 5-year nomination or recommender, nominated or recommender, Review experts and other qualifications; cancel their membership or membership in academic institutions such as societies and associations; postpone promotion to a higher-level professional and technical position for one year; order to contact the magazine as soon as possible to withdraw the manuscript; administrative warning. Sun Taitao (participating author, merged with another paper): Cancellation of application qualifications for scientific research projects, scientific research awards, scientific and technological achievements, scientific and technological talent plans within 6 years; cancellation of 6 years as a nominee or recommender, nominee or recommender, evaluation expert and other qualifications; cancel their membership or membership in academic institutions such as societies and associations; revoke the higher-level professional and technical positions that they have obtained; postpone promotion to higher-level professional and technical positions for 3 years; instruct them to contact the magazine as soon as possible to withdraw the manuscript ; Party warning. Zhao Liang (participating author): talk about scientific research integrity admonition; the hospital circulates criticism. The Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College has dealt with the relevant responsible persons as follows: Li Xiaoyan (first author): ordered to make a thorough inspection; canceled the five-year application for science and technology plan projects (special projects, funds, etc.) science and technology awards, science and technology talent titles and other qualifications, time From December 12, 2020 to December 11, 2025; cancellation of five-year postgraduate tutor application and appointment qualifications from December 12, 2020 to December 11, 2025; cancellation of three-year professional title promotion Eligibility, from December 12, 2020 to December 11, 2023; criticism will be notified in the hospital. Chen Lei and Wang Haibin (participating authors): Criticism was circulated in the hospital. Wendeng Orthopaedic Hospital treated Man Qiu (tied as the first author) as follows: prohibiting the use of this article to declare academic activities such as scientific research and awards; reporting criticism and ordering him to make an in-depth review. ,