Retracted : Effect of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway on apoptosis, migration, and invasion of transplanted hepatocellular carcinoma cells after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in rats
Authors: Bao-Ming Wang
Nuo Li
Journal: Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (2018)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway; apoptosis; invasion; migration; prognosis
Affiliations: Interventional Department, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P. R. China., Department of Gastroenterology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P. R. China.

Abstract:  This study aims to investigate the influence of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on apoptosis, migration, and invasion of transplanted hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in rat models. A total of 80 rats were grouped into sham, TACE, Wnt-C59, and TACE + Wnt-C59 groups (n = 20). Ten days after model establishment, 10 rats in each group were executed to perform pathological examination and follow-up experiment, and the remaining 10 rats in each group were reared to observe the survival condition. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were applied to determine the expressions of Wnt1, β-catenin, cyclin D1, c-met, vimentin, E-cadherin, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). ELISA was performed to measure the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) content of rats. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate cell apoptosis rate and transwell assay to examine cell migration and invasion. Compared with the TACE group, the Wnt-C59 and TACE + Wnt-C59 groups showed increased apoptosis and survival time (the TACE + Wnt-C59 group &gt; the Wnt-C59 group). Compared with the sham group, the TACE + Wnt-C59 groups showed decreased cancer tissue weight and expressions of Wnt1, β-catenin, cyclin D1, vimentin, c-met, and VEGF, but increased E-cadherin expression. Compared with the TACE group, the Wnt-C59 and TACE + Wnt-C59 groups showed decreased AFP level, migration, and invasion (the TACE + Wnt-C59 group &lt; the Wnt-C59 group). These findings indicate inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway improves therapeutic effect on TACE via suppressing migration, invasion, and promoting apoptosis of transplanted HCC cells in rats. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Fig 1A. Another overlap. ![file] Fig 3C. ![file] The stylised nature of these Western Blots are suggestive of a papermill provenance for this report. Other examples are tabulated in a spreadsheet. https: docs.google.com spreadsheets d 1r0MyIYpagBc58BRF9c3luWNlCX8VUvUuPyYYXzxWvgY edit?usp=sharing , 
 Fig 3E.  Wnt1, u03b2-catenin, cyclin D1, c-met, vimentin, E-cadherin and VEGF proteins of rat HCC cells in each group determined by immunohistochemistry . ![] Many overlaps. , 
 Retracted [30 June 2021] . --------------------------------------- The above article, published online on 12 December 2017 in Wiley Online Library has been retracted by agreement between the the journal s Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Christian Behl, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by a third party. A detailed investigation revealed that several image elements of the experimental data were published elsewhere in a different scientific context. Thus, the editors consider the conclusions of this article to be invalid. , 
 #1 Not to flog a dead horse or anything, but here is Fig 3E again: ![] Pink-boxed panel turns out to be a detail of the HCC panel of [Pu et al (2019)] , Fig 3C. ![] ,