RETRACTED: Ophiopogonin B induces the autophagy and apoptosis of colon cancer cells by activating JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway

Abstract

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. An Expression of Concern for this article was previously published while an investigation was conducted (see related editorial: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113812). This retraction notice supersedes the Expression of Concern published earlier. Concern was raised about the reliability of the flow cytometry data in Figure 3A, which appears to contain similar features to those found in other publications, as detailed here: https://pubpeer.com/publications/70E55DFEA82FAAB92C28CD2BB28F1C; and here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r0MyIYpagBc58BRF9c3luWNlCX8VUvUuPyYYXzxWvgY/edit#gid=262337249. Independent analysis also identified suspected image duplications between the ‘Bcl-2’ blot in Figure 3G, and the ‘Beclin-1’ blot in Figure 4B, and within the immunofluorescence images in Figure 4A. The journal requested the corresponding author comment on these concerns and provide the associated raw data. The authors did not respond to this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Autophagy; Colon cancer; JNK/c-Jun; Ophiopogonin B.