Sapylin inhibits lung cancer cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis by attenuating PI3K/AKT signaling
Authors: Benhong Liu
Lin Zhang
Journal: Journal of cellular biochemistry (2019)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: PI3K/AKT; apoptosis; cell proliferation; lung cancer; sapylin.
Affiliations: Department of Health Materials Management, Dongying People's Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, China., Department of Respiratory Medicine, Dongying People's Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, China.

Abstract:  Sapylin (OK-432) revealed biological properties in cancers. In this study, the effect of sapylin on lung cancer cell A549 was investigated. A549 cell lines were treated with sapylin (0.1, 0.5, and 1 KE/mL) for different time intervals. A549 cell proliferation and apoptosis was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide/Ki67 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Western blot was used to determine the expressions of proteins involved in proliferation, apoptosis, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase/serine/threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT), Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathway. Level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was insured by using the ROS kit. Sapylin inhibited A549 cell viability and the expressions of proliferation-related proteins (cyclin E1 and D1) in dose- and time-dependent manners. Sapylin promoted apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manners. Sapylin also promoted the expressions of apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase-3 and 8) in dose- and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, sapylin increased the intracellular concentration of ROS in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, the high expression of ROS level might induce inhibition of cell viability and increase cell apoptosis. The mechanistic study revealed that sapylin inactivated the PI3K/AKT and Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathways. Our findings suggest that sapylin inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis in lung cancer cells, thus providing a new theoretical basis for the treatment of lung cancer. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 The Western blots in this paper have an interesting layout that appears to be shared with other papers, such as these papers published in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry: * Ying Liu et al. 2019, DOI: 10.1002 jcb.29568 * Long Liu et al. 2020, DOI: 10.1002 jcb.29642 * Yugeng Li et al. 2019, DOI: 10.1002 jcb.29146 * Xiaoliang Yang et al. 2019, DOI: 10.1002 jcb.28829 * Ning Han et al. 2019, DOI: 10.1002 jcb.29638 Western blot panels within the same figure, and across figures and papers, appear to share the same background, while the bands are regularly spaced, all have similar rounded edges, without the usual smudges and specks. Here, for example are panels 1C and 1C, which appear to share similarities in their backgrounds, highlighted with boxes of the same color. Contrast enhanced to bring out details. ![file] Could the authors provide the original blots, please? , 
 The corresponding author s choice of CaseyPeiffer8311 as an email address is curious and exotic -- Casey Peiffer is a well-known 9 11 truther -- but this camphor-leafed waxy plant is in no position to criticize. There is the problem that Gmail is not accessible in mainland China, so I do not know if Dr Bik s request for original blots will reach its target. ![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 [4 June 2021] . ------------------------------------ The above article, published online on 22 April 2019 in Wiley Online Library , has been retracted by agreement between the the journal s Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Christian Behl, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by a third party. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found, the editors consider the conclusions of this article to be invalid. The authors collaborated in the investigation initially, but were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction. ,