Downregulated long non-coding RNA TRPM2-AS inhibits cisplatin resistance of non-small cell lung cancer cells via activation of p53- p66shc pathway
Authors: J-L Pang
L Ma
X-W Xie
X-M Xiong
Z-G Wen
H-Y Wang
L-Y Ma
H-D Zheng
X-L Shen
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2017)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer; lncRNA TRPM2-AS; chemo-resistance; qRT-PCR assay; apoptosis rate
Affiliations: Respiratory Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as an ordinary malignant tumor, presents with high death rate and poor prognosis. Few literatures have explored the association between NSCLC development and lncRNAs expression. This study focuses on the important role of a novel lncRNA TRPM2-AS in the development of chemo-resistance in NSCLC. Materials and methods: The expression level of lncRNA TRPM2-AS was identified by using qRT-PCR assay. The apoptosis rate and the alteration of the cell cycle were detected by the flow cytometric analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK8) was utilized for detecting chemo-sensitivity of the cisplatin-resistant A549/DDP cells. The p53 and p66shc protein levels were detected by Western blotting assay. Results: A549/DDP cells presented remarkably higher expression of lncRNA TRPM2-AS than paired A549 cells. Moreover, re-sensitization to cisplatin was seen in A549/DDP cells after lncRNA TRPM2-AS knockdown. On the contrary, the sensitivity of lncRNA TRPM2-AS-overexpressed A549 cells to cisplatin decreased obviously when compared with the control. Furthermore, downregulated lncRNA TRPM2-AS induced cell apoptosis and altered cell cycle distribution through activating the p53-p66shc pathway. Conclusions: We suggest that lncRNA TRPM2-AS participates in the resistance of NSCLC cells to cisplatin, which may provide a new therapeutic target of NSCLC. 

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. , 
 RE: Downregulated Long Non-Coding RNA TRPM2-AS inhibits cisplatin resistance of non-small cell lung cancer cells via activation of p53- p66shc pathway Dear Editor, Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to present the comment, and I am sorry for replying so late. After checking the email, I have noticed the notification which related to the  Stock Photo . I have revised the manuscript carefully, and it s true that the pictures, which related to the results of the flow cytometry and western blot, were similar with some papers. The following content is our responses to editors. If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact us. Firstly, our article was published at the June 2017, which was earlier than the others papers related to the similar pictures. Among these 121 papers which mentioned in the notification, our article ranked in second place according to the publication time. And, our article shown no relationship with the article u201cLong non-coding RNA XIST functions as an oncogene in human colorectal cancer by targeting miR-132-3pu201d (May 2017, published the earliest in 121 papers). It is true that all of the related articles were published later than our article. Therefore, it is high probability that some of our pictures may be leaked for unknown reasons. Secondly, all experiments were performed by our team, and we were sure that our data were reliable. The experiment were performed at October 2016. Since it has been four years and the experiment records were kept in the superior department, we may need some time to sort out the experiment records. If editors still need these records, we are delighted to provide it. Thirdly, we are delighted to perform the repetitive experiments about some experiments to further verify our results in the future. We re still wondering why these data leaked, but it was truly happened. Meanwhile, we want to prove the authenticity of our experimental results. Therefore, if editors need further experiment, we are delighted to perform the experiment. Sincerely, L-Y Ma July 20, 2020 , 
 #2 Dr. Ma: Thank you for your thorough reply. While Dr. Bik has documented the breadth of this extraordinary situation, it is unlikely that she, or anyone outside of the institutions involved, can uncover the exact circumstances that led to the results that we all can see. It must be frustrating to be caught up in this and I commend you for responding on this forum. It would be greatly appreciated if you and or the appropriate research integrity authorities could investigate and report your findings here, if that is possible. A recent article discusses some of these challenges: https: doi.org 10.1016 S0140-6736(19)32933-2 ,