Astragalus polysaccharide alleviates LPS-induced inflammation injury by regulating miR-127 in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts
Authors: Zhen Ma
Changjie Ren
Shaojun Zhao
Qi Ren
Journal: International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology (2018)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: Astragalus polysaccharide; JNK; NF-κB; PI3K/AKT; inflammation
Affiliations: Department of Cardiology, Jining No.1 People’s Hospital, Jining, China

Abstract:  Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) has been widely reported to play an important role in inflammatory response. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of APS on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation injury in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. H9c2 cells were treated with different concentrations of APS, and cell viability was detected by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Then, the effect of APS on cell viability and apoptosis induced by LPS was determined by CCK-8, flow cytometry, and western blot. The expression and release of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, expression of miR-127 in H9c2 cells was analyzed by qRT-PCR, and knocked down by transfection with miR-127 inhibitor. Western blot was used to analyze signaling pathway molecules. APS had no effect on H9c2 cells viability. However, APS could alleviate LPS-induced inflammation injury by increasing cell viability, reducing apoptosis, and inhibiting release of inflammatory cytokines in H9c2 cells ( P &lt; 0.05). Additionally, we found that APS increased toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expressions in LPS-treated H9c2 cells. Mechanistically, we found that APS exerted the protective effect by down-regulating LPS-increased expression of miR-127 ( P &lt; 0.05), inhibiting nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), JNK and promoting phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathways in LPS-treated H9c2 cells. The results demonstrated that APS could protect H9c2 cells against LPS-induced inflammation injury, which might be partially due to miR-127 down-regulation and regulation of NF-κB, JNK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. These findings indicated that APS might be a potential therapeutic drug for treatment of myocarditis. 

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 20587384211000841 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 2 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. Ren Q, Zhao S, Ren C, Ma Z (2018) Astragalus polysaccharide alleviates LPS-induced inflammation injury by regulating miR-127 in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 31: 1-11. DOI: 10.1177 2058738418759180. 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. , 
 [Source: Jining First People s Hospital Release time: 2021-12-17] : In order to strengthen the construction of scientific research integrity, severely punish violations, and create a good environment for scientific and technological innovation, the relevant paper issues recently investigated and dealt with by this unit are hereby notified as follows. 2. The paper  Astragalus polysaccharide alleviates LPS-induced inflammation injury by regulating miR-127 in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts , published by Zhao Shaojun as the corresponding author and Ren Qi as the first author, was investigated and found to be an academic that tampered with data and fabricated research processes. Misconduct. The relevant responsible persons are dealt with as follows: Zhao Shaojun (corresponding author, combined with another paper): cancel the application qualifications for scientific research projects, scientific research awards, scientific and technological achievements, and scientific and technological talent plans within 6 years; cancel the nomination or recommender for 6 years, Nominated or recommenders, review experts and other qualifications; cancel their membership or membership in academic institutions such as societies, associations, etc.; postpone promotion to higher-level professional and technical positions for 2 years; instruct to contact the magazine as soon as possible to withdraw the manuscript; administrative warning . Ren Qi (first author, merged with 2 other papers): 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, Review experts and other qualifications; cancel their membership or membership in academic institutions such as societies, associations, etc.; recover the author s personal research awards and honorary titles; revoke the higher-level professional and technical positions that have been obtained; postpone promotion 3 A senior professional and technical position; a warning within the party. Ren Changjie and Ma Zhen (participating authors): Talks on scientific research integrity admonitions; criticized in the hospital. ,