Long non-coding RNA DANCR upregulates IGF2 expression and promotes ovarian cancer progression
Authors: K-F Liu
H-Y Cheng
Y-Q Gao
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2019)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: lncRNA; DANCR; ovarian cancer; proliferation; invasion
Affiliations: Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Huxi Hospital of Jining Medical College, Shanxian Central Hospital, Heze, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Recent studies have revealed the important role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) in the development of malignant tumors. In this work, we explored the exact role of lncRNA DANCR in ovarian cancer progression and the underlying mechanism. Patients and methods: Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect DANCR expression in both ovarian cancer cells and tissue samples. Subsequently, cell proliferation assay and transwell assay were conducted. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism was explored via qRT-PCR and Western blot assay. Results: The expression of DANCR in ovarian cancer samples was significantly higher than that of the corresponding normal tissues. After DANCR overexpression in vitro, the proliferation, invasion and migration of ovarian cancer cells were markedly promoted. In addition, both the mRNA and protein expression levels of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) were remarkably upregulated after DANCR overexpression. Furthermore, the results found that the expression level of IGF2 was positively correlated with DANCR expression in ovarian cancer tissues. Conclusions: In this study, we revealed that DANCR could enhance the proliferation, migration and invasion capacities of ovarian cancer cells by upregulating IGF2. Our findings might offer a potential therapeutic choice for patients with ovarian cancer. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 This paper is one of a set of 121 papers that all contain images from the same library of about 100 photos and plots. This is unexpected, because each paper has different authors and different affiliations, with little to no overlap, and describes different cancer types and molecules. It would be very hard to explain how authors from different labs would all obtain the same photo. Therefore, the papers might have all be derived from the same source, such as a paper mill that sells ready-to-be-published papers. This  Stock Photo paper set has been described in more detail on my blog post, https: scienceintegritydigest.com 2020 07 05 the-stock-photo-paper-mill and in a Wall Street Journal article by Eva Xiao (currently behind a paywall): https: www.wsj.com articles chinese-research-papers-raise-doubts-fueling-global-questions-about-scientific-integrity-11593939600 The vast majority (113 121) of the papers were published in the same journal, European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences (ERMPS). A link to the full set of papers can be found here: https: docs.google.com spreadsheets d 172RWS18w1lTNJ9Nnj80fuXXTqTm4fGkoK0sdYyvKE3g edit?usp=sharing All papers have been reported to the journal editors on July 2, 2020. , 
 Withdrawn. https: www.europeanreview.org article 22998 *Since this article has been suspected of research misconduct and the corresponding authors did not respond to our request to prove originality of data and figures, u201cLong non-coding RNA DANCR upregulates IGF2 expression and promotes ovarian cancer progression, by Y.-Q. Gao, H.-Y. Cheng, K.-F. Liu, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (9): 3621-3626u2013DOI: 10.26355 eurrev_201905_17785u2013PMID: 31114986u201d has been withdrawn.* *The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.* ,