EZH2 regulates H2B phosphorylation and elevates colon cancer cell autophagy
Authors: Chongbai Zhong
Ling Zhou
Zhongyuan Liu
Le Yang
Journal: Journal of cellular physiology (2020)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: ATG genes; EZH2; cell autophagy; colon cancer; histone phosphorylation.
Affiliations: Department of Gastrointestinal SurgeryJining No. 1 People's Hospital Jining China, Affiliated Jining No.1 People's Hospital of Jining Medical UniversityJining Medical University Jining China, Department of General SurgeryZoucheng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Zoucheng China

Abstract:  Epigenetic alterations, especially histone modification, play vital roles in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. Upregulation of the enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) has been reported to contribute to the initiation and progression of colon cancer. This study analyzed the association between EZH2 and phosphorylation of H2B at tyrosine 37 (H2BY37ph ) in colon cancer tissues and cells, along with the influences of the EZH2-H2BY37ph axis on colon cancer cell autophagy. Immunohistochemistry was utilized to assess EZH2 and H2BY37ph expressions in clinical samples of colon cancer. Cell transfection was carried out to alter EZH2 and H2BY37ph expressions in colon cancer cells. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pull down assay were conducted to analyze the association between EZH2 and H2BY37ph . Western blotting was utilized to measure proteins expressions related to cell autophagy. We found that there was a positive association between EZH2 and H2BY37ph in colon cancer tissues and cells. EZH2 directly interacted with H2B and promoted H2BY37ph in colon cancer cells using ATP as a phosphate donor. Moreover, EZH2 levated colon cancer cell autophagy in starvation condition. H2BY37ph was required for EZH2-elevated colon cancer cell autophagy under starvation condition. The EZH2-H2BY37ph axis elevated colon cancer cell autophagy possibly via activating transcriptional regulation of ATG genes. In conclusion, EZH2-elevated colon cancer initiation and progression at least in part via inducing colon cancer cell autophagy. EZH2 could phosphorylate H2BY37 and then induce transcription activation of ATG genes in colon cancer cells under starvation condition. 

Retracted: Yes

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 To illustrate the recognizable layout of the graphs in this paper, here is Figure 1. ![file] , 
 Retracted, [4 June 2021] . ----------------- The above article, published online on 08 July 2019 in Wiley Online Library , has been retracted by agreement between the journal s Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Gregg Fields, 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. ,