Long non-coding RNA CASC15 promotes proliferation and induces apoptosis of cervical cancer cells through targeting miR-101-3p
Authors: Q Li
B Liu
Y-N Zhang
T Jiang
Journal: European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences (2020)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: Cervical cancer; lncRNA CASC15; progression; mechanism; RT-qPCR
Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hubei Public Security County People's Hospital, Gongan County, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Cervical cancer (CC) is a common type of fatal gynecological cancer worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify the exact role of lncRNA CASC15 in the progression of CC and to explore the possible underlying mechanism. Patients and methods: Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect CASC15 expression in 4 CC cell lines, and 54 paired CC tissue samples. The roles of CASC15 in CC were explored through apoptosis assay, colony formation assay, and proliferation assay in vitro, respectively. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism of CASC15 in CC was explored by luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Results: CASC15 expression in CC tissues was remarkably higher than that of adjacent normal tissues. The knockdown of CASC15 significantly inhibited CC cell proliferation, whereas induced cell apoptosis in vitro. Meanwhile, CC cell proliferation was remarkably promoted, and cell apoptosis was inhibited by overexpression of CASC15 in vitro. In addition, miR-101-3p was up-regulated and down-regulated after knockdown and overexpression of CASC15 in vitro, respectively. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis and mechanism assays revealed that miR-101-3p was a direct target of CASC15 in CC tumorigenesis. Conclusions: CASC15 could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of CC cells by targeting miR-101-3p. Our findings suggested that CASC15 might offer a new therapeutic intervention for CC patients. 

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. , 
 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 non-coding RNA CASC15 promotes proliferation and induces apoptosis of cervical cancer cells through targeting miR-101-3p, by Y.-N. Zhang, B. Liu, T. Jiang, Q. Li, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2020; 24 (2): 611-618u2013DOI: 10.26355 eurrev_202001_20037u2013PMID: 32016962u201d has been withdrawn. [The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause] . ,