Long non-coding RNA TUG1 alleviates LPS-induced injury of PC-12 cells by down-regulating microRNA-127
Authors: Lufeng Yao
Jin Cao
Shanshan Hu
Huajiang Zheng
Nan Zhang
Journal: Experimental and molecular pathology (2019)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Inflammatory injury; NF-Œ∫B/p38MAPK; Spinal cord injury; lncRNA TUG1; microRNA-127.
Affiliations: Department of Orthopedics, Ningbo No.6 Hospital, Ningbo 315040, Zhejiang, China., Department of Orthopedics, Ningbo No.6 Hospital, Ningbo 315040, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  The limited therapeutic strategies and the unsatisfied prognosis for spinal cord injury (SCI) make the identification of innovative therapeutic targets for SCI become very urgent. Herein, we explored the role of long non-cording RNA taurine up-regulated gene 1 (lncRNA TUG1) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated PC-12 cells and studied the downstream effector and signaling cascades. We found that LPS-induced decrease of cell viability, increase of apoptosis and release of IL-6 and TNF-Œ± were mitigated by TUG1 overexpression. MicroRNA (miR-127) was negatively regulated by TUG1. Effects of TUG1 on LPS-treated PC-12 cells were reversed by miR-127 overexpression. Besides, TUG1 inactivated NF-Œ∫B and p38MAPK pathways in LPS-treated PC-12 cells via down-regulating miR-127. Dynactin 4 and protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) were the target genes of miR-127. miR-127 regulated the NF-Œ∫B and p38MAPK pathways in PC-12 cells at least by targeting dynactin 4 and PTP. In conclusion, we discovered that TUG1 alleviated LPS-induced PC-12 cell inflammatory injury might be through down-regulating miR-127, influencing dynactin 4 and PTP, and then inactivating NF-Œ∫B and p38MAPK pathways. 

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 [31 May 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. ,