Long non-coding RNA OR3A4 promotes metastasis of ovarian cancer via inhibiting KLF6
Authors: X-M Lin
W-Y Xu
M-M Jiang
X-Q Fu
L-L Hong
B Qiao
F-F Guo
Journal: European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences (2019)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: lncRNA; OR3A4; ovarian cancer; metastasis; invasion
Affiliations: Edmond H. Fischer Signal Transduction Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have attracted much attention for their roles in tumor progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the exact role of lncRNA OR3A4 in the development of ovarian cancer (OC), and to explore the possible underlying mechanism. Patients and methods: OR3A4 expression in OC tissue samples was detected by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, wound healing assay and transwell assay were performed to evaluate the effect of OR3A4 on the metastasis of OC. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism was explored by RT-qPCR and Western blot assay. Results: The expression level of OR3A4 in OC samples was significantly higher than that of adjacent tissues. Moreover, cell migration and invasion were significantly repressed after OR3A4 knockdown in vitro. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expressions of kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) were remarkably upregulated after knockdown of OR3A4. Furthermore, the expression level of KLF6 was negatively correlated with the expression of OR3A4 in OC tissues. Conclusions: Our results showed that OR3A4 could enhance OC cell metastasis and invasion via suppressing KLF6. Moreover, OR3A4 might be a potential therapeutic target for OC. 

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. , 
 This article has been withdrawn around August 1, 2020. The retraction notice is not linked to the article, but can be found here: https: www.europeanreview.org article 22447 It reads:  *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 OR3A4 promotes metastasis of ovarian cancer via inhibiting KLF6, by F.-F. Guo, M.-M. Jiang, L.-L. Hong, B. Qiao, X.-M. Lin, W.-Y. Xu, X.-Q. Fu, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (6): 2360-2365u2013DOI: 10.26355 eurrev_201903_17380u2013PMID: 30964160u201d has been withdrawn.* *The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.* ,