[Retracted] In vitro antitumor activity of the ethyl acetate extract Potentilla chinensis in osteosarcoma cancer cells.

Following the publication of the above paper, a concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that several figures bore striking similarities to other papers that were published at around the same time written by different authors based in different research institutions. Fig. 3 (in colour) was essentially the same as a greyscale figure (Fig. 4) in a paper published in Oncology Reports, which has now been retracted [Wan G, Tao J­G, Wang G­D, Liu S­P, Zhao H­X and Liang Q­D: 3­ß­Εrythrodiol isolated from Conyza canadensis inhibits MKN­45 human gastric cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, DNA fragmentation, ROS generation and reduces tumor weight and volume in mouse xenograft mode. Oncol Rep 35: 2328­2338, 2016]. Furthermore, Figs. 5 and 6 in the above paper appeared to share data with Figs. 7 and 11, respectively, in a paper published in Phytomedicine [Sui C­G, Meng F­D and Jiang Y­h: Antiproliferative activity of rosamultic acid is associated with induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, inhibition of cell migration and caspase activation in human gastric cancer (SGC­7901) cells. Phyomedicine 22: 796­806, 2015]. After having conducted an independent investigation in the Editorial Office, the Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports has determined that the above paper should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of confidence concerning the originality and the authenticity of the data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office never received any reply. The Editor regrets any inconvenience that has been caused to the readership of the Journal. [the original article was published in Molecular Medicine Reports 14: 3634­3640, 2016; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2016.5679].

Meta-analysis of the prognostic value of long non-coding RNA PVT1 for cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) is reported to be dysregulated in various cancers. Therefore, this meta-analysis was performed to clarify its utility as a prognosis marker in malignant tumors. METHODS: Electronic databases, including PubMed, OVID, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases, were retrieved from inception to December 16, 2017. Typically, hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, so as to explore the relationship between PVT1 expression and patient survival. In addition, odds ratios (OR) were calculated to assess the association of PVT1 expression with pathological parameters. RESULTS: A total of 23 studies involving 2350 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled HR suggested that high PVT1 expression levels were correlated with poor overall survival (OS, HR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.73-2.28), disease-free survival (DFS, HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.45-2.14), and recurrence-free survival (RFS, HR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.26-2.39) in cancer patients without obvious heterogeneity. Moreover, high PVT1 expression levels were also correlated with larger tumor size (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.02-2.11), poor differentiation grade (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.39-2.30), advanced tumor stage (pooled OR = 3.28, 95% CI: 2.46-4.38), lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.66-4.29) and distant metastasis (OR = 4.00, 95% CI: 1.39-11.50) in cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this meta-analysis suggest that a high PVT1 expression level may serve as a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in cancers.

Triptolide inhibits the function of TNF-α in osteoblast differentiation by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Chronic inflammation often delays fracture healing or leads to bone nonunion. Effectively suppressing pathological inflammation is crucial for fracture healing or bone remodeling. Triptolide, which is a diterpenoid epoxide, is the major active component of the Thunder God Vine, Tripterygium wilfordii. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of triptolide in osteoblast differentiation and explore the molecular mechanisms of triptolide in fracture healing. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was used to evaluate osteoblast differentiation. ALP activity was measured via histochemical staining and western blotting was used to determine the expression of factors associated with inflammation. C2C12 cells were initially treated with 200 ng/ml bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 alone for 3 days, which caused a significant increase in ALP activity (P<0.01). However, treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α significantly decreased the ALP activity (P<0.05). Notably, treatment with the chronic inflammatory cytokine TNF-α significantly decreased the effect of BMP-2 in C2C12 cells compared with BMP-2 treatment alone (P<0.01). C2C12 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of BMP-2 or TNF-α for 3 days. The results demonstrated that TNF-α treatment significantly inhibited BMP-2-induced osteoblast differentiation in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.01). The role of triptolide in BMP-2-induced osteoblast differentiation was also examined. Cells were treated with BMP-2, BMP-2 + TNF-α alone, or BMP2 + TNF-α with increasing concentrations of triptolide (4, 8 or 16 ng/ml). After 3 days, the results of ALP activity revealed that triptolide significantly reversed the TNF-α-associated inhibition of osteoblast differentiation (P<0.01). Western blotting analysis demonstrated that triptolide markedly inhibited the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB, therefore suppressing the effects of TNF-α. In summary, triptolide is able to reverse the TNF-α-associated suppression of osteoblast differentiation, suggesting that triptolide treatment may have a positive effect on bone remodeling and fracture repairing.

MiR-1246 Promotes LPS-Induced Inflammatory Injury in Chondrogenic Cells ATDC5 by Targeting HNF4γ.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common inflammatory joint disease. miRNAs are associated with OA and functionally implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. In the present study, we investigated the role of miR-1246 in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory injury of ATDC5 cells. METHODS: ATDC5 cells were cultured and treated with LPS in a series of concentration (0, 1, 5, and 10 µg/ml) for 5 h. The cells were transfected with miR-1246-mimic, inhibitor, si-HNF4γ or negative control, then were assessed for cell viability using CCK8 assay, apoptosis by flow-cytometry and expressions of miR-1246 and pro-inflammatory cytokines by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. RESULTS: Cell viability was significantly reduced and cell apoptosis was added in ATDC5 cells injured with LPS at the dosage of 5 and 10 µg/ml. Relative mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α) were significantly increased. miR-1246 was up-regulated in ATDC5 cells treated with LPS. Moreover, miR-1246 overexpression aggravated LPS-induced decrease in cell viability, increase in apoptosis and overproduction of pro-inflammatory factors. mRNA and protein expressions of HNF4γ were significantly suppressed in cells transfected with miR-124-mimic. Further, miR-1246 knockdown alleviated LPS-induced inflammatory injury by up-regulating the expression of HNF4γ and activation of PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Suppression of miR-1246 alleviated LPS-induced inflammatory injury in chondrogenic ADTC5 cells by up-regulation of HNF4γ and activation of PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT pathways. The findings of this study will provide a novel viewpoint regarding miR-1246 target for clinical.

In vitro antitumor activity of the ethyl acetate extract of Potentilla chinensis in osteosarcoma cancer cells.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the anticancer effect of the ethanol extract of Potentilla chinensis, a Chinese medicinal plant. An MTT assay was used to evaluate the cell viability of MG­63 human osteosarcoma cancer cells and fR­2 cells. Furthermore, the effect of the extract on apoptosis induction, cell cycle phase distribution and inhibition of cell migration in the MG63 human osteosarcoma cancer cell line was evaluated. The effect of the extract on cell cycle phase distribution was assessed by flow cytometry using propidium iodide (PI). Phase contrast microscopy detected the morphological changes in MG63 cancer cells following extract treatment. The results of the study demonstrated that the extract was cytotoxic to MG63 cancer cells, while the normal cell line (epithelial cell line) showed lower susceptibility. Phase contrast microscopy showed distinguishing morphological features, such as cell shrinkage and blebbing induced by the extract treatment in osteosarcoma cancer cells. The average proportion of Annexin V­positive cells (total apoptotic cells) significantly increased from 5.6% in the control to 24.2, 38.8 and 55.7% in the 40, 80 and 150 µg/ml groups, respectively. The extract induced early and late apoptosis in the cancer cells. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the extract induced G0/G1­cell cycle arrest, which also showed significant dose­dependence. The extract induced a significant and concentration­dependent reduction in cell migration. Moreover, DNA fragmentation was also examined by observation of the formation of DNA ladders. It was demonstrated that DNA fragmentation was increased with extract concentration compared with that in the control. Taken together, EEPC may serve as potential therapeutic agent against osteosarcoma, provided that the toxicity profile and in vivo investigations demonstrate that it is safe.

Effect of traditional chinese medicine on survival and quality of life in patients with esophageal carcinoma after esophagectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect and possible mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on survival and quality of life (QOL) in patients with esophageal carcinoma after esophagectomy. METHODS: Adopting prospective controlled method of study, the authors had 128 post-esophagectomy patients, hospitalized from February 2001 to February 2002, randomly divided into 3 groups: the TCM group, treated with TCM drugs alone; the chemotherapy group, with chemotherapy alone applied; and the synthetic group, treated with chemotherapy combined with Chinese medicine. Their survival rate and QOL were compared. RESULTS: In the TCM group, the chemotherapy group and the synthetic group, the respective 3-year relapse and remote metastasis rate were 71.4%, 76.7%, 53.4%, respectively (chi(2) = 6.53, P < 0.05); the 1-year survival rate 42.9%, 46.5%, 72.1%; 2-year survival rate 28.6%, 27.9%, 55.8%, and 3-year survival rate 26.2%, 23.1%, 37.2%, respectively. And the QOL improving rate was 69.0%, 37.2%, 58.1%, respectively, all showing significant difference among them (chi(2) = 6.10, all P < 0.05). Moreover, immune function was increased in the TCM and the synthetic groups. CONCLUSION: Integrative Chinese and Western medicinal treatment was the beneficial choice for post-operational patients with esophageal carcinoma. However, long time use of simple Chinese medicine was also advisable, especially for those in poverty.