ABSTRACT
Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the colony formation assay data shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 8 were strikingly similar to data that had already appeared in another article written by different authors at different research institutes [Chen W, Wang J, Liu S, Wang S, Cheng Y, Zhou W, Duan C and Zhang C: MicroRNA3613p suppresses tumor cell proliferation and metastasis by directly targeting SH2B1 in NSCLC. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 35: 76, 732516, 2016]. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published prior to its submission to Oncology Reports, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 38: 16881694, 2017; DOI: 10.3892/or.2017.5794].
ABSTRACT
Cancer initiating cells (CIC) are defined as the unique subpopulation in the tumors that possess the ability to initiate tumor growth and sustain self-renewal as well as metastatic potential. In this study, we found that EHF overexpression promoted formation of CIC traits and silencing it inhibited the traits in gastric cancer NCIN87 cells. Overexpressing EHF downregulated the antitumor effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in NCIN87 cells. We found that miR206 downregulated EHF protein expression by targeting its 3'UTR in NCIN87 cells and GES-1 cells. Overexpressing miR206 inhibited formation of CIC in NCIN87 cells. In gastric cancer tissues, EHF protein expression was upregulated and miR206 was downregulated. We identified a negative correlation between EHF protein and miR206 expression in gastric cancer tissues. Thus, we concluded that miR206 inhibits formation of CICs by targeting EHF in gastric cancer.
