[Retracted] Downregulation of microRNA­198 suppresses cell proliferation and invasion in retinoblastoma by directly targeting PTEN.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editors' attention by a concerned reader that certain of the data shown for the cell invasion assays in Figs. 2C and 4C were strikingly similar to data appearing in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published elsewhere, or were already under consideration for publication, prior to its submission to Molecular Medicine 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. [Molecular Medicine Reports 18: 595­602, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8979].

miR-340 Exerts Suppressive Effect on Retinoblastoma Progression by Targeting KIF14.

Purpose: This work aimed to investigate the influences of microRNA-340 (miR-340) on proliferation and apoptosis of retinoblastoma (RB) cells and explore its regulatory mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR-340 mimic and inhibitor were applied for up-regulating or inhibiting the expression of miR-340 in RB cell lines. Then, CCK-8 and AnnexinV-FITC/PI staining were used to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. After that, luciferase assay was performed to affirm the direct targets of miR-340. Furthermore, qRT-PCR and western blotting assay were carried out to detect the levels of miR-340 and KIF14. RESULTS: Our results indicated that the miR-340 was lowly expressed in RB cell lines, and up-regulation of miR-340 can decrease the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of RB cells. Moreover, we verified that miR-340 controls KIF14 expression, either directly or through a subsequent molecular cascade, and inversely related to its expression. The results obtained from the rescue assays presented that over-expression of KIF14 reversed the miR-340-mediated inhibition on malignant phenotype of RB cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we proved that miR-340 can decrease the proliferation and increase the apoptosis of RB cells, and its function in RB cells was at least partially achieved via down-regulation of KIF14, prompting that miR-340 was expected to supply a new direction for clinical therapy of RB in the future.

Downregulation of microRNA­198 suppresses cell proliferation and invasion in retinoblastoma by directly targeting PTEN.

A number of studies have highlighted that aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) serve crucial roles in the tumorigenesis and tumor development of retinoblastoma (RB). Hence, a full investigation of the biological roles and regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in RB may provide novel therapeutic targets for patients with this malignancy. miR­198 is frequently abnormally expressed in various types of human cancers. However, the expression level, biological roles and underlying mechanisms of miR­198 in RB remain to be elucidated. In the present study, miR­198 expression was upregulated in RB tissues and cell lines. Silencing of miR­198 attenuated cell proliferation and invasion in RB. In addition, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) was predicted as a potential target of miR­198 using bioinformatics analysis. Subsequent luciferase reporter assay indicated that the 3'­untranslated region of PTEN can be directly targeted by miR­198. Furthermore, miR­198 inhibition increased the PTEN expression at the mRNA and protein levels in RB cells. In addition, PTEN mRNA expression was downregulated in RB tissues, and this downregulation was inversely associated with the expression level of miR­198. PTEN knockdown rescued the inhibitory effects of miR­198 underexpression on cell proliferation and invasion in RB. Notably, the downregulation of miR­198 inactivated the phosphoinositide 3­kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway in RB. These results demonstrated that miR­198 may serve oncogenic roles in RB by directly targeting PTEN and regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Hence, miR­198 may be a promising therapeutic target for patients with RB.

Complex three-dimensional polymer-metal core-shell structures towards emission control.

We report the fabrication of three-dimensional periodic metal nickel nanostructures achieved by the combination of femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization and electroless plating technology. We can control the deposition speed of 10 nm per second by adjusting the reaction time. The thermal stability is good under 500 °C for the three-dimensional graphite-lattice polymer structure with 200 nm nickel film. Optical reflectivity and thermal emission measurements under 550 °C showed that the fabricated metallic structure was thermally excited and emitted light at λ = 4.50, 4.95 µm. The emission peak wavelengths agree with the absorption peaks. These data demonstrate that creating metallic photonic crystals by incorporation of metals to laser-fabricated templates is a simple and cost-efficient method. The emitters can work at such low temperatures, which is more important for realistic operation in applications.