CircPSM3 inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes by targeting miRNA-296-5p
Authors: J-L Ni
X-Q Dang
Z-B Shi
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2020)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: Osteoarthritis; Circular RNA; CircPSM3; miRNA-296-5p; Chondrocytes
Affiliations: First Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiao Tong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic bone and joint disease. Circular RNA is a type of non-coding RNA that forms a circular structure with covalent bonds. There is growing evidence that circRNA can function as a functional RNA and play an important role in the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis chondrocytes. However, the exact role of circRNA on OA remains to be studied. Patients and methods: Quantificational real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the expression levels of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p in OA chondrocytes. Cell proliferation was detected by the Cell Counting Kit (CCK8), and BMP2, BMP4, BMP6 and RUN2 molecular levels in OA chondrocytes were detected by qRT-PCR and Western Blot (WB). Direct targets of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p in OA chondrocytes were measured by Luciferase reporter assay. Results: CircPSM3 expression was upregulated in OA cartilage tissue and cells. Low expression of CircPSM3 promoted the proliferation and cell differentiation of OA chondrocytes. Meanwhile, miRNA-296-5p was down-regulated in OA cartilage tissue and cells. The Luciferase reporter gene showed that CircPSM3 could target miRNA-296-5p. The expression level of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p showed a negative correlation. Further research found that a high expression of miRNA-296-5p could effectively promote the proliferation and cell differentiation of OA chondrocytes. Furthermore, miRNA-296-5p inhibitors reversed the effect of si-CircPSM3 on the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes, while miRNA-296-5p inhibitors enhanced the effect of si-CircPSM3 on the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes. Conclusions: CircPSM3 was upregulated in OA chondrocytes. CircPSM3 participated in the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes through targeted binding to miRNA-296-5p. CircPSM3 may become a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis treatment. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 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 , 
 Expression of Concern, [17 August 2021] . -------------------------- We, the Publisher and Editor of Artificial Cells, *Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology*, are issuing an Expression of Concern for the following article: RuiJin Xie, Mei Liu ShuJie Li (2019) Emodin weakens liver inflammatory injury triggered by lipopolysaccharide through elevating microRNA-145 in vitro and in vivo. *Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology*, 47:1, 1877u20131887, DOI: 10.1080 21691401.2019.1614015 After publication of this article, questions about the scientific integrity of the article content were brought to the Publisher and Editoru2019s attention. We reached out to the authors requesting that they supply information that would confirm the articleu2019s integrity. The authors provided several files in response to our queries, but they were unable to provide the original data in a format which satisfies our requirements to confirm the authenticity of some types of data. In particular, they were unable to provide full western blots, where the molecular weight markers are indicated. Therefore, as we continue to work through the issues raised, we advise readers to interpret the information presented in the article with due caution. The authors have been notified about this Expression of Concern. ,