Retracted Article: Overexpression of PCDH8 inhibits proliferation and invasion, and induces apoptosis in papillary thyroid cancer cells
Authors: Zhuang Hu
Zhenyu Zhou
Liang Chang
Hui Zhang
Journal: RSC Advances (2018)
Discipline: CHEMISTRY
Keywords: Protocadherin8; PCDH8; papillary thyroid carcinoma; PTC; expression
Affiliations: Department of Thyroid Breast Surgery, Huaihe Hospital, Henan University, Kaifeng 475000, People's Republic of China, Department of Gastroenterology, Huaihe Hospital of Henan University, China

Abstract:  Protocadherin8 (PCDH8), a member of the protocadherin (PCDH) family, is involved in the progression of several types of cancers. However, the expression and biological roles of PCDH8 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remain largely unknown. Therefore, in the present study, we detected the expression of PCDH8 in human PTC tissues and cell lines, and evaluated its role in PTC cells. Our results demonstrated that PCDH8 was lowly expressed in human PTC tissues and cell lines. In addition, ectopic expression of PCDH8 efficiently inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of PTC cells, as well as prevented the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in PTC cells. Furthermore, PCDH8 efficiently induced apoptosis and autophagy in PTC cells. Mechanistically, overexpression of PCDH8 significantly prevented the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in PTC cells. Taken together, these findings showed that overexpression of PCDH8 inhibits proliferation and migration/invasion, and induces apoptosis of PTC cells through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Fig 4A B.  Overexpression of PCDH8 promotes the apoptosis and autophagy of PTC cells. TPC-1 and BCPAP cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1- PCDH8 or empty vector for 24 h, respectively. (A and B) Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometric analysis in TPC-1 and BCPAP cells ![file] Through inexplicable coincidence, the plots marked with purple and brown rectangles appear to be truncated versions of panels in Fig 3A of [Long et al (2017)] ... ![] ... and in Fig 2G from [Li et al (2018)] . ![] Obviously the labels are different. , 
 Retracted [7 January 2021] . ------------------------------------------------- The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data. The images in the article were screened by an image integrity expert who identified instances of manipulation of western blots, which undermines the reliability of all the western blots presented in the article. In Fig. 1D, the PCDH8 band shows signs of image manipulation. The bottom edge of the second band is missing and there are also repeating patterns in the background. In addition, in the GAPDH control panel, the 2nd and 4th bands are duplicates. The authors contacted the Editor asking to retract the article because they found that PCDH8 has no effect on papillary thyroid cancer cell apoptosis. The authors informed us that they performed this assay again and found that their prior results were wrong. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data in the article, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable. The authors did not respond to any correspondence regarding the wording of the retraction notice. Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances Date: 7th January 2021 ,