Mass spectrometry‚Äêbased proteomic analysis of FSCN1‚Äêinteracting proteins in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cells
Authors: Hongyu Yin
Yemei Tang
Xuting Xue
Wei Gao
Yujia Guo
Yongyan Wu
Hongliang Liu
Yuliang Zhang
Li Dai
Min Niu
Jiajia Cui
Fengsheng Dai
Journal: IUBMB life (2019)
Discipline: BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Keywords: FSCN1; coimmunoprecipitation; interacting partners; laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma; mass spectrometry
Affiliations: Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China., Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery Research Institute, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China., The Key Scientific and Technological Innovation Platform for Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer, Shanxi Province, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.

Abstract:  Fascin actin-bundling protein 1 (FSCN1) is an evolutionarily conserved actin-bundling protein that plays a critical role in cell migration, motility, adhesion, and cellular interactions. Although multiple clinical studies have implicated the expression of FSCN1 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) progression, the precise mechanism of FSCN1 in the process has not been clearly elucidated. To define FSCN1 function, we characterized FSCN1‚Äêinteracting proteins in two cell lines by immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry (MS). After data filtering, 119 proteins with expression in both the Hep-2 and TU-177 cell samples were identified as FSCN1-interacting partners. With in-depth bioinformatics analysis, we linked FSCN1 to critical cellular processes including cell adhesion, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, regulation of protein ubiquitination, ribosomal RNA processing, and small molecule metabolism. We discuss the interactions between FSCN1 and some of the newly validated partners. The identification of these potential partners of FSCN1 expands our knowledge of the FSCN1 interactome and provides a valuable resource for understanding the functions of this protein in LSCC progression. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
  FIGURE 7 JNK and p38MAPK ERK Pathways. A, Overexpression of miR-29a inactivated JNK pathway by downregulation of CDK6. B, Overexpression of miR-29a inhibited p38MAPK ERK pathways by downregulation of CDK6. JNK, Janus kinase; p38MAPK ERK, mitogen activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinases Contrast is increased in the version below, to highlight the repeating background texture across the bands.   , 
 Sadly, the corresponding author chose to use the e-address  nancycook4925@gmail.com , making it difficult to reach them with a request for clarification now that gmail is inaccessible within mainland China.  , 
 #1 The same background to bands in Fig. 7 is recognisable from Fig 5C of [Huang Jin (2019)] .  , 
 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 [4 June 2021] . ---------------------------- The above article, published online on 11 October 2017 in Wiley Online Library , has been retracted by agreement between the journal s Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Christian Behl, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by a third party. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found, the editors consider the conclusions of this article to be invalid. The authors collaborated in the investigation initially, but were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction. ,