Nodal Regulates Bladder Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion via the ALK/Smad Signaling Pathway [Retraction]

Li Y, Zhong W, Zhu M, Hu S, Su X. Onco Targets Ther. 2018;11:6589—6597. https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S177514

We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal OncoTargets and Therapy, have retracted the published article.

After publication, concerns have been raised by a third party in 2024 about the integrity of the data in Figures 2–4 of the article.

Further investigation conducted by the Journal and Publisher confirmed the following:

• unusual similarities present between image panels representative of different treatment conditions in Figures 2E and F;
• unusual similarities present between image panels representative of different treatment conditions in Figure 4E KMBC2 NC and Figure 4F KMBC2 NC;
• unexpected overlaps in Figure 2F of the article with Western blots in the following publication that are representative of different treatment conditions:Sun W, Zhang L, Yan R, Yang Y, Meng X. LncRNA DLX6-AS1 promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration of non-small cell lung cancer cells by targeting the miR-27b-3p/GSPT1 axis. OncoTargets and Therapy. 2019;12:3945–3954. https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S196865
• unexpected overlaps between the Western blots in Figure 3 and Western blots in the following article:Li X, Chen B, Chi D, Zhang Y, Jiang W. lncRNA CASC9 regulates cell migration and invasion in hemangioma endothelial cells by targeting miR-125a-3p/Nrg1. OncoTargets and Therapy. 2019;12:423–432. https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S181914
• unexpected overlaps between Figure 4B WN nodal, RT4 NC and figures in the following article:Jiang H, liang M, Jiang Y, et al. The lncRNA TDRG1 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting miR-326 to regulate MAPK1 expression in cervical cancer. Cancer Cell Int. 2019;19:152. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-019-0872-4
• unexpected overlaps between Figure 4D and figures in the following article:Chen B, Jin S, Bai B, Li Z, Ni C, Liu Y. Knockdown of interferon-stimulated gene 15 affects the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to norcantharidin. Exp Ther Med. 2019;18(5):3751–3758. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8028

When approached for an explanation, the authors checked their data and confirmed there are fundamental errors present, and requested the retraction of their article.

As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines.

The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’.