hMena: altered expression in psoriatic skin

Silencing KRT16 inhibits keratinocyte proliferation and VEGF secretion in psoriasis via inhibition of ERK signaling pathway

Psoriasis is a multisystem disease affecting about 2% of the population, while keratin16 (KRT16) has been reported to participate in psoriasis. However, the specific mechanism of KRT16 in psoriasis was inadequately investigated. The objective of the study was to elucidate the mechanism by which siRNA-mediated silencing of KRT16 affects keratinocyte proliferation and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion in psoriasis through the extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Psoriasis-related core gene KRT16 was screened out. Then, the expression of KRT16, VEGF, and ERK signaling pathway-related genes was detected in psoriatic patients. To further investigate the mechanism of KRT16, keratinocytes in psoriatic patients were treated with KRT16 siRNA or/and ERK inhibitor (PD98059) to detect the changes in related gene expression and cell survival. KRT16 was involved in psoriasis development. The expression levels of KRT16, p-ERK1/2, and VEGF in lesion tissues are significantly elevated. Keratinocytes treated with KRT16-siRNA and KRT16-siRNA + PD98059 exhibited reduced KRT16, p-ERK1/2, and VEGF expression. The cell survival rate in cells treated with KRT16-siRNA, PD98059, and KRT16-siRNA + PD98059 reduced significantly. These findings indicate that silencing KRT16 inhibits keratinocyte proliferation and VEGF secretion in psoriasis via inhibition of ERK signaling pathway, which provides a basic theory in the treatment of psoriasis.

RETRACTED: MicroRNA138 regulates keratin 17 protein expression to affect HaCaT cell proliferation and apoptosis by targeting hTERT in psoriasis vulgaris

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief.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 9, with suspected image similarities reported between the ‘miR-138 mimic’ and ‘siRNA hTERT’ groups, as detailed here: https://pubpeer.com/publications/983120063E7603EBA705B85BBF77F5; and here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r0MyIYpagBc58BRF9c3luWNlCX8VUvUuPyYYXzxWvgY/edit#gid=262337249. Independent analysis confirmed this finding and identified additional suspected image duplications within Figure 9. 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.

The possible role of Mena protein and its splicing-derived variants in embryogenesis, carcinogenesis, and tumor invasion: a systematic review of the literature

The Ena/VASP (enabled/vasodilator stimulated phosphoprotein) family includes the binding actin proteins such as mammalian Ena (Mena), VASP, and Ena-VASP-like. It is known that the perturbation of actin cycle could determine alteration in the mobility of cells and in consequence of organogenesis. Few recent studies have revealed that Mena protein could play a role in breast or pancreatic carcinogenesis. Based on our researches, we observed that the intensity of Mena expression increased from premalignant to malignant lesions in some organs such as large bowel, stomach, cervix, and salivary glands. These findings prove that Mena could be a marker of premalignant epithelial lesions. In premalignant lesions, it could be helpful to define more accurately the risk for malignant transformation. In malignant tumors, correlation of expression of its splice variants could indicate metastatic behavior. In conclusion, we consider that it is necessary to analyze the expression of Mena splice variants in a higher number of cases, in different epithelial lesions, and also in experimental studies to define its exact role in carcinogenesis and also its possible prognostic and predictive values.