Long noncoding RNA CASC2 inhibits metastasis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition of lung adenocarcinoma via suppressing SOX4
Authors: K Liu
Z-M Gao
F Xu
D Wang
Y Shen
L-G Han
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2017)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: lncRNA CASC2; Lung adenocarcinoma; Metastasis; Mechanism; RT-qPCR
Affiliations: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. qdsheny163.com.

Abstract:  Objective: Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have caught more attention for their role in tumor progression. Lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) is one of these ordinary malignant tumors. This study aims to identify whether lncRNA CASC2 (cancer susceptibility candidate 2) can regulate the metastasis of LAC, and find out its potential mechanism. Patients and methods: RT-qPCR was conducted to detect CASC2 expression level in 63 LAC tissues and 4 LAC cells. Besides, statistical methods were applied to analyze clinical data and prognosis in the 63 patients. Furthermore, function experiments were performed to determine the effect of CASC2 on LAC metastasis in vitro. The potential mechanism was further explored by RT-qPCR and Western blot assay. Results: In our study, CASC2 expression level was lower in LAC tissues than that in corresponding tissues. CASC2 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage and survival time of these patients. Moreover, overexpression of CASC2 inhibited migrated and invaded ability of LAC cells. Then, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of LAC cells and SOX4 expression was suppressed by upregulating CASC2. Conclusions: These results indicate that CASC2 could inhibit metastasis and EMT of LAC via suppressing SOX4, which may offer a new vision for interpreting the mechanism of LAC metastasis. 

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. , 
 The publisher has wished the paper into the cornfield: https: www.europeanreview.org article 21861 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 noncoding RNA CASC2 inhibits metastasis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition of lung adenocarcinoma via suppressing SOX4, by D. Wang, Z.-M. Gao, L.-G. Han, F. Xu, K. Liu, Y. Shen, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21 (20): 4584-4590u2013PMID: 29131257u201d has been withdrawn. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. This is an abrupt and ignominious fate for a paper that was cited **22 times**. ,