Long non-coding RNA DSCAM-AS1 indicates a poor prognosis and modulates cell proliferation, migration and invasion in ovarian cancer via upregulating SOX4
Authors: J Hao
Y Liu
Y-M Jiang
Y Li
S-H Zhang
Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (2019)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: lncRNAs; ovarian cancer; DSCAM-AS1; tumor progression; SOX4
Affiliations: Department of Gynecology, Weihai Municipal Hospital, Weihai, China. .

Abstract:  Objective: Recent studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in tumor progression. Ovarian cancer is a common type of fatal gynecological cancer worldwide. This study aims to investigate how lncRNADSCAM-AS1 functions in the progression of ovarian cancer. Patients and methods: DSCAM-AS1 expression of both ovarian cancer cells and 56 paired of tissue samples was detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, the function of DSCAM-AS1 was identified via transwell assay, wound healing assay, colony formation assay and proliferation assay in vitro. The underlying mechanism was explored through qRT-PCR and Western blot assay. Results: DSCAM-AS1 expression was remarkably upregulated in tumor tissues compared with that in the adjacent normal tissues. Besides, ovarian cancer proliferation, migration and invasion were promoted after overexpression of DSCAM-AS1 in vitro. Moreover, after overexpression of DSCAM-AS1, SOX4 was upregulated at mRNA and protein level in vitro. Furthermore, the expression of SOX4 in tumor tissues was positively correlated with the expression of DSCAM-AS1. Conclusions: The above results suggested that DSCAM-AS1 can promote cell migration, invasion and proliferation in ovarian cancer by upregulating SOX4, which may offer a new therapeutic intervention for patients with ovarian cancer. 

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. , 
 Withdrawn. https: www.europeanreview.org article 23548 *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 DSCAM-AS1 indicates a poor prognosis and modulates cell proliferation, migration and invasion in ovarian cancer via upregulating SOX4, by Y. Li, J. Hao, Y.-M. Jiang, Y. Liu, S.-H. Zhang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (10): 4143-4148u2013DOI: 10.26355 eurrev_201905_17916u2013PMID: 31173284u201d has been withdrawn.* *The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.* ,