Triptolide inhibits the growth and migration of colon carcinoma cells by down-regulation of miR-191
Authors: Jinliang Li
Yuxi Qi
Journal: Experimental and molecular pathology (2019)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Colorectal cancer (CRC); HT-29 cell; NF-κB and Wnt/β-catenin pathways; SW480 cell; Triptolide (TPL)
Affiliations: Department of Anorectal Surgery, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining 272011, China; Affiliated Jining No.1 People's Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining Medical University, Jining 272067, China., Department of Anorectal Surgery, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining 272011, China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Concerns were raised about the background pattern of the Western Blots from Figure 2A. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article “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”, the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Fig. 2. T riptolide (TPL) inhibits the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of HT-29 and SW480 cells. (A) Protein expressions of EMT-related factors were detected after HT-29 and SW480 cells were treated with various dose of TPL (10, 50 and 100 nM) for 24 h in the presence or absence of 10 ng mL TGF-u03b21. The background textures are replicated across bands, when highlighted by increasing the contrast. ![file] ![file] , 
 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 - [30 June 2022] . -------------------- This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article u201cu2026 the Western blot bands in all 400+ papers are all very regularly spaced and have a smooth appearance in the shape of a dumbbell or tadpole, without any of the usual smudges or stains. All bands are placed on similar looking backgrounds, suggesting they were copy pasted from other sources, or computer generatedu201d, the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article. ,