[Retracted] MicroRNA­616 promotes the growth and metastasis of non­small cell lung cancer by targeting SOX7.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the cell formation assay data shown in Figs. 3D, 4D, 8D and 9D were strikingly similar to data that had already appeared in another article written by different authors at different research institutes [Wang Z, Jiang C, Chen W, Zhang G, Luo D, Cao Y Wu J, Ding Y and Liu B: Baicalein induces apoptosis and autophagy via endoplasmic reticulum stress in hepatocellular carcinoma. Biomed Res Int: 732516, 2014]. 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: 2078­2086, 2017; DOI: 10.3892/or.2017.5854].

MicroRNA-616 promotes the growth and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer by targeting SOX7.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of important regulators in human types of cancer including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). miR-616 has been found to be a novel cancer-related miRNA. However, the expression and biological function of miR-616 in NSCLC have not been investigated. In this study, qRT-PCR was performed to evaluate the level of miR-616 in NSCLC tissues. MTT, BrdU and Transwell assay were used to investigate the proliferation and metastasis ability of NSCLC cells. Subcutaneous injection model and tail vein injection model were used to evaluate the effect of miR-616 on the in vivo growth and metastasis of NSCLC cells. It was also found that the expression level of miR-616 was increased in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Patients with a high level of miR-616 had a significantly shorter overall survival and disease-free survival. Functionally, miR-616 overexpression promoted while miR-616 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. Moreover, miR-616 overexpression enhanced the subcutaneous growth and lung metastasis of NSCLC cells in nude mice. Mechanistically, SOX7 was confirmed to be the downstream target of miR-616 in NSCLC cells. Forced expression of SOX7 prevented the promoting effects of miR-616 overexpression on the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC cells, while knockdown of SOX7 reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-616 knockdown on the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC cells. In conclusion, the present study indicates that miR-616 is a promising biomarker and therapeutic target in NSCLC.

Long-term outcome of the repair of 50 mm long median nerve defects in rhesus monkeys with marrow mesenchymal stem cells-containing, chitosan-based tissue engineered nerve grafts.

Despite great progress in the fields of tissue engineering and stem cell therapy, the translational and preclinical studies are required to accelerate the clinical application of tissue engineered nerve grafts, as an alternative to autologous nerve grafts, for peripheral nerve repair. Rhesus monkeys (non-human primates) are more clinically relevant and more suitable for scaling up to humans as compared to other mammalians. Based on this premise, and considering a striking similarity in the anatomy and function between human and monkey hands, here we used chitosan/PLGA-based, autologous marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-containing tissue engineered nerve grafts (TENGs) for bridging a 50-mm long median nerve defect in rhesus monkeys. At 12 months after grafting, locomotive activity observation, electrophysiological assessments, and FG retrograde tracing tests indicated that the recovery of nerve function by TENGs was more efficient than that by chitosan/PLGA scaffolds alone; histological and morphometric analyses of regenerated nerves further confirmed that the morphological reconstruction by TENGs was close to that by autografts and superior to that by chitosan/PLGA scaffolds alone. In addition, blood test and histopathological examination demonstrated that TENGs featured by addition of autologous MSCs could be safely used in the primate body. These findings suggest the efficacy of our developed TENGs for peripheral nerve regeneration and their promising perspective for clinical applications.