Retracted : Ligustrazine protects chondrocyte against IL‚Ä?Œ≤ induced injury by regulation of SOX9/NF‚ÄêŒ∫B signaling pathway
Authors: Ji Qu
Yang Wang
Tao Yu
Hui Jin
Journal: Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (2018)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: NF-Œ∫B signal pathway; chondrocytes; ligustraine; osteoarthritis.
Affiliations: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China., Department of Orthopedics, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Abstract:  Ligustrazine is extracted from rhizoma ligustici wallichii, is known for its vasodilatory properties in the traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The study aimed to determine the effect and the underlying mechanism of ligustrazine on interleukin-1Œ≤ (IL-1Œ≤)-induced injury in osteoarthritis (OA). Human articular cartilages and joint effusion were obtained from patients with OA, and the chondrocytes were isolated and treated with IL-1Œ≤. The different inflammatory cytokines were analyzed by ELISA. Cell viability, apoptosis, and apoptosis-related factors were examined by MTT, flow cytometry, and Western blot. Then, the expressions of COL2A1 and ACAN, and the concentrations of sGAG and MMP-13 were measured. The level of SOD and MDA and ROS production were then analyzed. Furthermore, the protein levels of SOX9 and NF-Œ∫B pathway were detected by Western blot. Ligustrazine significantly suppressed inflammatory reaction in joint effusion of OA patients. Moreover, ligustrazine attenuated IL-1Œ≤-induced chondrocytes injury and matrx degradation in chondrocytes. Ligustrazine promoted oxidative stress response by increasing SOD level, decreasing MDA level, and inhibiting ROS production in IL-1Œ≤-induced chondrocytes. Besides, ligustrazine increased SOX9 expression, and SOX9 silencing reversed the effect of ligustrazine on matrx degradation in IL-1Œ≤-injured chondrocytes. Furthermore, ligustrazine blocked NF-Œ∫B pathway in IL-1Œ≤-induced chondrocytes, and PTDC (NF-Œ∫B inhibitor) enhanced the effect of ligustrazine on viability, apoptosis, SOX9 expression, and ROS production in IL-1Œ≤-induced chondrocytes. These results indicated that ligustrazine protected chondrocytes against IL-1Œ≤-induced injury possibly by regulation of SOX9 and inactivation of NF-Œ∫B signaling pathway. It could act as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
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 #2 I agree with this concern. Could the authors provide uncropped original scans? ***  , 
 2021 retraction. https: bmccancer.biomedcentral.com articles 10.1186 s12885-021-07810-y BMC Cancer volume 21, Article number: 100 (2021) Cite this article The original article was published in BMC Cancer 2013 13:433 Retraction Note: BMC Cancer (2013) 13:433 https: doi.org 10.1186 1471-2407-13-433 The Editor has retracted this article [1] because a number of the figures exhibit irregularities. Specifically: In Figure 1B the blots in the ERK1 2 lanes for Testis and Interstitium appear to be the same In Figure 2E the blots in the CCDC6 lanes for shctrl- + and empty vector appear to be the same Figure 3 shows images labelled Seminoma and Embrionary carcinoma; however, these appear to represent the same tumour type As these irregularities undermine the conclusions presented the Editor no longer has confidence in the article. Angela Celetti, Stefania Staibano, Gennaro Ilardi, Francesco Merolla, Francesco Esposito, Francesco Morra, Renato Franco and Paolo Chieffi disagree with this retraction. Alfredo Fusco did not respond to correspondence about this retraction. The editor was not able to obtain a current email address for Vincenza Leone, Chiara Luise or Maria Siano. Reference 1. Staibano S, Ilardi G, Leone V, et al. Critical role of CCDC6 in the neoplastic growth of testicular germ cell tumors. BMC Cancer. 2013;13:433 https: doi.org 10.1186 1471-2407-13-433 ,