miR‐942 promotes tumor migration, invasion, and angiogenesis by regulating EMT via BARX2 in non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Ke Wei
Xinming Jing
Chuchu Shao
Fengming Yang
Zhiqiang Qin
Hua Shen
Yuenian Shi
Yongqian Shu
Journal: Journal of Cellular Physiology (2019)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: BARX2; NSCLC; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; metastasis; miR-942.
Affiliations: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China., Department of Oncology, Sir Run Run Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China., Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China., Department of Urology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract:  Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has an important function in cancer. Recently, microRNAs have been reported to be involved in EMT by regulating target genes. miR-942 is considered a novel oncogene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, its role in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been investigated. In this study, the expression of miR-942 in NSCLC patients tumor and paired adjacent tissues were assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization. Transwell, wound healing, tube formation, and tail vein xenograft assays were conducted to assess miR-942's function in NSCLC. Potential miR-942 targets were confirmed using dual-luciferase reporter assays, immunohistochemistry, immunoblot, and rescue experiments. The results showed miR-942 is relatively highly expressed in human NSCLC tissues and cells. In vitro assays demonstrated that overexpression of miR-942 promoted cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. Tail vein xenograft assays suggested that miR-942 contributed to NSCLC metastasis in vivo. Three bioinformatics software was searched, and BARX2 was predicted as a downstream target of miR-942. Direct interaction between them was validated by dual-luciferase assays. Rescue experiments further confirmed that BARX2 overexpression could reverse functional changes caused by miR-942. Moreover, miR-942 increased EMT-associated proteins N-cadherin and vimentin by inhibiting BARX2, while E-cadherin expression is reduced. In summary, this study reveals that miR-942 induces EMT-related metastasis by directly targeting BARX2, which may provide a potential therapeutic strategy for NSCLC. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 This paper is one of a set of now 124 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 (113 124) of the papers were published in the same journal, European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences (ERMPS). Six papers from this set, including this one, were publihed in JBUON. 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. , 
 To illustrate my description in comment #1, here is Figure 2D, where one of the panels matches  TW22 The Eyes of the Stock Photo paper mill. ![file] Here is a collage of the TW22 photos found in other papers from the Stock Photo paper mill. The Figure 2D panel roughly matches the lighter part in the collage, but 90 degrees rotated. ![file] Also, the original PDF has been archived here: https: web.archive.org web 20210211011239 https: www.jbuon.com archive 24-6-2273.pdf ,