Long non-coding RNA HULC promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by down-regulating microRNA-15a
Authors: Bing Wei
Yuanyuan Zhang
Haomiao Feng
Journal: International journal of biological macromolecules (2019)
Discipline: BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Keywords: Long non-coding RNA highly up-regulated in liver cancer; MicroRNA-15a; PI3K/AKT pathway; Pancreatic cancer; Tumor growth
Affiliations: Department of General Surgery, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong 276003, China., Department of Endocrinology, People's Hospital of Zhenhai District (Ningbo No.7 Hospital), Ningbo 315202, China., II District of Metabolic Disease Center, Department of Endocrinology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong 276003, China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  Pancreatic cancer is a common and lethal cancer in digestive system. This study investigated the potential oncogenic effects of lncRNA HULC on pancreatic cancer. Briefly, qRT-PCR was conducted to measure the expression of HULC and miR-15a in pancreatic tissues and cells. Cell transfection was used to change the expression of HULC and miR-15a in pancreatic cancer Panc-1 cells. The viability, migration and invasion and apoptosis of Panc-1 cells after relevant transfection were detected using CCK-8 assay, two chamber transwell assay and Guava Nexin assay, respectively. Results found that HULC had a higher expression level, while miR-15a had a lower expression level in pancreatic cancer tissues. Overexpression of HULC promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of Panc-1 cells. Suppression of HULC had opposite effects and dramatically induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, HULC negatively regulated the expression of miR-15a in Panc-1 cells. miR-15a participated in the effects of HULC on Panc-1 cells. Furthermore, overexpression of HULC activated PI3K/AKT pathway in Panc-1 cells by down-regulating miR-15a. In conclusion, HULC exerted oncogenic role in pancreatic cancer. Overexpression of HULC promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by down-regulating miR-15a and then activating PI3K/AKT pathway. 

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 , 
 Linyi People s Hospital reported the results on an investigation, on [28 September 2021](http: www.ly120.cn prt main scddetl.lay?infoid=2553 t=1632793446912%EF%BC%89). H t to Google Translate for translation. If the link stops working the National Health Commission of the PRC provided a summary report on [30 September](http: www.nhc.gov.cn cms-search xxgk getManuscriptXxgk.htm?id=bdeb7e0443ff4a95bc46a8621606ab97). --------------------------- In order to strengthen the construction of scientific research integrity, severely punish violations, and create a good environment for scientific and technological innovation, the relevant paper issues recently investigated and dealt with by this unit are hereby notified as follows. 2. Linyi People s Hospital Zhang Yuanyuan is the corresponding author, Feng Haomiao is the first author and published the paper  Long non-coding RNA HULC promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by down-regulating microRNA-15a . After investigation, the department has academic misconduct of buying and selling papers. Relevant responsible personnel are dealt with as follows: - (1) To the first author Feng Haomiao: talk about scientific research integrity and instruct him to write a written inspection; the whole hospital circulates criticism; cancels his participation in the 2020 annual evaluation, and the annual assessment shall not be determined as an excellent ranking; cancel him within 5 years Qualifications for application of scientific research projects, scientific research awards, scientific and technological achievements, scientific and technological talent plans, etc.; cancellation of their qualifications as nominees or recommenders, nominated or recommended persons, review experts, etc. within 5 years; suspension of their graduate tutor application qualifications for 5 years; withdrawal of their use of scientific research Relevant academic awards, titles, honorary titles, etc. obtained for untrustworthy behavior; require them to contact the magazine within 30 days to withdraw the manuscript; deduct a performance salary of 5,000 yuan. - (2) To the corresponding author Zhang Yuanyuan: talk about scientific research integrity and instruct him to write a written inspection; the whole hospital circulates criticism; cancels his participation in the 2020 annual evaluation, and the annual assessment shall not be determined as an excellent ranking; cancels his scientific research projects within 5 years , Scientific research awards, scientific and technological achievements, scientific and technological talent plans, etc.; cancel their qualifications as nominees or recommenders, nominated or recommenders, and review experts within 5 years; suspend their graduate tutor application qualifications for 5 years; revoke their use of scientific research untrustworthy behavior Relevant academic awards, professional titles and honorary titles obtained; require them to contact the magazine within 30 days to withdraw the manuscript; deduct a penalty of 5,000 yuan for performance wages. , 
 Retracted [14 February 2022] . ---------------------------- This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. Given the institution investigation and the comments of Dr. Elisabeth Bik regarding this article u201c u2026 the Western blot bands in all 400+ papers are all very regularly spaced and have a smooth appearance in the shape of a dumbbell or tadpole, without any of the usual smudges or stains. All bands are placed on similar looking backgrounds, suggesting they were copy pasted from other sources, or computer generatedu201d, the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editors-in-Chief decided to retract the article. Moreover, the name of the author Bing Wei was added after the acceptance of the article without notifying the handling Editor, which is contrary to the journal policy on changes to authorship. ,