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RETRACTED ARTICLE: External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong induces G2/M arrest and apoptosis of androgen-independent prostate cancer cells by inhibiting Akt and NF-κB pathways

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This article was retracted on 24 April 2021

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Abstract

Long-term clinical observations and ongoing studies have shown antitumor effects of external Qi of Yan Xin Qigong (YXQG-EQ) that originated from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the antitumor effects of YXQG-EQ, we investigate the effects of YXQG-EQ on growth and apoptosis in androgen-independent prostate cancer PC3 cells. We found that exposure to YXQG-EQ led to G2/M arrest associated with reduced cyclin B1 expression and apoptosis in PC3 cells. YXQG-EQ treatment inhibited constitutive and epidermal growth factor-induced Akt phosphorylation, basal and TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation, and downregulated anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression. In contrast, exposure to YXQG-EQ increased phosphorylation of Akt and Erk1/2 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and had no cytotoxic effect on either HUVEC or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). These results indicate that YXQG-EQ has profound effects on growth and apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by targeting survival pathways including the Akt and NF-κB pathways.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Yan Xin Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chongqing, China

    Xin Yan

  2. New Medical Science Research Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Xin Yan, Hua Shen & Jun Wang

  3. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Hongjian Jiang & Xinqi Wu

  4. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Chengsheng Zhang

  5. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Dan Hu

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  1. Xin Yan
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  7. Xinqi Wu
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Correspondence to Xinqi Wu.

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Yan, X., Shen, H., Jiang, H. et al. RETRACTED ARTICLE: External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong induces G2/M arrest and apoptosis of androgen-independent prostate cancer cells by inhibiting Akt and NF-κB pathways. Mol Cell Biochem 310, 227–234 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-007-9684-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-007-9684-2

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