Litchi Seed Aqueous Extracts play a role in suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and migration in breast cancer cells
Authors: Wujie Wei
Jie Deng
Fei Yan
Jianhai Sun
Yanling Ma
Li Liu
Li Li
Journal: Cell Cycle (2020)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Aqueous extracts; Breast cancer; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Invasion; Litchi seed
Affiliations: Department of Oncology, Hubei No.3 People's Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, PR. China.

Abstract:  We carried out this study to unravel the function of Litchi Seed Aqueous Extracts (LSAE) on biological functions of breast cancer (BC) cells. MTT assay was adopted to measure proliferation of BC cells (MCF7, BT474 and MDA-MB-231) and normal mammary cells (MCF10A) under different time points (24, 48 and 72 h) and different concentrations (50, 100, 200 and 400 μg/mL). MCF-7 cells were selected for subsequent experiments and were grouped into blank group, negative control (NC) group, low-, medium- and high-dose LSAE (L-LSAE, M-LSAE, H-LSAE) groups. Cell viability, invasion, migration and apoptosis were measured by functional assays. Low dosage of LSAE (50 and 100 μg/mL) enhanced proliferation of MCF10A cells, while high dosage of LSAE (200 and 400 μg/mL) suppressed proliferation of MCF10A cells. The proliferation inhibition rate in BT474 and MDA-MB-231cells was increased relative to that in MCF7 cells. MCF-7 cells in the L-LSAE, M-LSAE and H-LSAE groups were rounded and epithelial-like, in which cell survival rate, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and migration abilities were reduced versus the blank and NC groups. The tendency in the H-LSAE group was substantially obvious than those in the L-LSAE and M-LSAE groups (both P &lt; 0.05). We found that LSAE is able to inhibit EMT, invasion and migration in BC cells based on concentration and time. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
  Figure 3. Morphology of MCF-7 cell in the blank group, NC group, L-LSAE, M-LSAE and H-LSAE group under the observation of a microscope. The three right-hand panels reveal identical areas after rotation, but also differences. How did this happen? ![file] , 
 Fig 7a. The Blank and NC panels are surprisingly similar after a 180-deg flip, but how to explain the differences? ![file] , 
 Retracted [21 June 2022] . ------------------------ We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Cell Cycle, have retracted the following article: Yanling Ma, Fei Yan, Wujie Wei, Jie Deng, Li Li, Li Liu, and Jianhai Sun. Litchi Seed Aqueous Extracts play a role in suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and migration in breast cancer cells. Cell Cycle. 2020;18(3):317u2013325. doi: 10.1080 15384101.2019.1710912. Since publication, significant concerns have been raised about the integrity of the data and reported results in the article. When approached for an explanation, the authors did not provide their original data or any necessary supporting information. As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as u2018Retractedu2019. ,