Triptolide inhibits benign prostatic epithelium viability and migration and induces apoptosis via upregulation of microRNA-218
Authors: Weitao Zhang
Hongfa Li
Changlei Yao
Journal: International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology (2018)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: BPH-TPL; apoptosis; miR-218; migration; survivin
Affiliations: 1 Department of Urinary Surgery, People's Hospital of Rizhao, Rizhao, China., 2 Department of Urinary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical University, Taian, China.

Abstract:  Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) has become a troublesome disease for elder men. Triptolide (TPL) has been reported to be a potential anticancer agent. However, the potential effects of TPL on BPH have not been shown out. BPH-1 cells were treated with different concentrations of TPL and/or transfected with microRNA-218 (miR-218) inhibitor, pc-survivin, sh-survivin, or their corresponding controls (NC). Thereafter, cell viability was determined by CCK-8 assay. Cell migration was accessed by modified two-chamber migration assay. Cell apoptosis was checked by propidium iodide (PI) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Annexin V staining. In addition, messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels were detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis, respectively. BPH-1 cell viability and migration were significantly decreased, while cell apoptosis and expression of miR-218 were statistically enhanced by TPL ( P &lt; 0.05 or P &lt; 0.01). However, downregulation of miR-218 increased cell viability and migration, while decreased cell apoptosis compared with the negative control group ( P &lt; 0.05 or P &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, the expression of cell cycle-related proteins and cell apoptosis-related proteins were also led to the opposite results with NC. In addition, we found that miR-218 negatively regulated the expression of survivin ( P &lt; 0.01) and suppression of survivin significantly enhanced cell apoptosis ( P &lt; 0.01). Moreover, the results demonstrated that TPL could inactivate mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, while inhibition of miR-218 alleviated the effects. TPL inhibits viability and migration of BPH-1 cells and induces cell apoptosis and also inactivates mTOR signal pathway via upregulation of miR-218. This study provides evidence for the further studies representing triptolide as a potential agent in the treatment of human BPH. 

Retracted: No

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 , 
 February 2021 Expression of Concern found here: https: journals.sagepub.com doi full 10.1177 20587384211000843 From the Notice:  *It has been brought to SAGEu2019s attention that this article may have been written (and possibly submitted) by a third-party agency, and that the contents of the article may be partially or wholly fabricated. SAGE is currently conducting a thorough investigation into this to establish the most appropriate way forward.* Here is Figure 4 to illustrate the  tadpole like appearance of the Western blots in this paper: ![file] , 
 Retracted [2 September 2021] . H t [RetractionWatch] . ------------------------- At the request of the Journal Editor(s) the following article has been retracted. Yao C, Li H, Zhang W (2018) Triptolide inhibits benign prostatic epithelium viability and migration and induces apoptosis via upregulation of microRNA-218. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 32: 1-11. DOI: 10.1177 2058738418812349. Significant similarities between this paper and a number of other papers have been identified, as well as indication of image and data manipulation suggestive of the use of a u201cpaper millu201d. These papers share common structures and wording yet do not share any common authors. The authors did not provide a sufficient response or evidence to refute these claims. As a result, the scientific accuracy of this paper is not reliable. Adhering to the international guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Journal has determined these are grounds for retraction. ,