Circular RNA circ-ABCB10 promotes the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer by targeting KLF6
Authors: M-Z Li
Q-M Cong
X-T Han
J-Q Jiang
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2020)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: circRNAs; circ-ABCB10; thyroid cancer; oncogene; proliferation
Affiliations: Department of Mammary and Thyroid Surgery, Weihai Central Hospital, Weihai, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Recent researches have proved that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in many diseases. Thyroid cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of circ-ABCB10 in thyroid cancer. Patients and methods: Circ-ABCB10 expression in 40 paired thyroid cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues was monitored by Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Subsequently, circ-ABCB10 was silenced or overexpressed in thyroid cancer cells. Function assays were conducted to explore the role of circ-ABCB10 in the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer in vitro. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were performed to elucidate the potential underlying mechanism. Results: Circ-ABCB10 expression was significantly higher in thyroid cancer tissues than that in adjacent tissues. The growth ability of thyroid cancer cells was significantly inhibited after circ-ABCB10 silence. However, the growth ability of thyroid cancer cells was remarkably promoted after circ-ABCB10 was overexpressed in vitro. Similarly, the invasion of thyroid cancer cells was significantly inhibited or promoted after circ-ABCB10 silence or overexpression, respectively. Besides, the expression of KLF6 was markedly up-regulated by the silence of circ-ABCB10. However, KLF6 expression was down-regulated by overexpression of circ-ABCB10. Conclusions: Circ-ABCB10 was first identified as a novel oncogene in thyroid cancer. Furthermore, it significantly enhanced the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer by targeting KLF6. Our findings suggested that circ-ABCB10 could be used as a potential therapeutic target in thyroid cancer. 

Retracted: Yes

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 23170 *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, u201cCircular RNA circ-ABCB10 promotes the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer by targeting KLF6, by X.-T. Han, J.-Q. Jiang, M.-Z. Li, Q.-M. Cong, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2020; 24 (3): 1271-1277u2013DOI: 10.26355 eurrev_202002_20182u2013PMID: 32096158u201d has been withdrawn.* *The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.* ,