RETRACTED: Physcion induces mitochondria-driven apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells via downregulating EMMPRIN

Abstract

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the authors as panels from Figure 3D appear similar to panels from Figure 3C of article published by Zhi Wang, Hong Zhang, Liling Dai, Tongguo Song, Ping Li, Yali Liu and Luning Wang in Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics 73 (2015) 213–219 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-015-0660-2. Also, bands from Figure 6B appear similar (after a horizontal flip) to bands from Figure 5B and Figure 1C of the articles published by the corresponding authors et al in Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 37 (2016) 264–275 https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2015.115 and the American Journal of Cancer Research 6(2) (2016) 425–439 http://www.ajcr.us/files/ajcr0022099.pdf. Quadrants showing flowcytometry patterns appear similar within Figure 6C although purportedly illustrating different experimental conditions. Although this article was published earlier than most of the other articles, the Editor decided to retract this article given the concerns on the reliability of the data. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

Keywords: AMPK; Apoptosis; EMMPRIN; HIF-1α; Physcion.