PONE-D-23-32257Expression of SDF-1/CXCR4 and Related Inflammatory Factors in Sodium Fluoride-Treated HepatocytesPLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Dear correspondence author

Please find your manuscript with few comments. Kindly be sure to correct them all to improve your article.

The elimination of fluoride from the human body primarily occurs through urine, feces, and sweat. The elimination half-life of fluoride in humans (in vivo) varies depending on factors such as age, kidney function, and overall health. In general, the elimination half-life of fluoride ranges from a few hours to several days. That makes your incubation times (12, 24 and 48 h) and concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 mmol NaF /L) looks logic.

Meanwhile, I have some interrogations:

1- What is the source of the human hepatic astrocytes (LX-2)? Did you obtain it from Wuhan Procell Life Sciences Co? There is a contradictory between the sources in page 8th first line!!

2- In histopathology figure, I can't see all the details you mentioned, please check the brightness and or the contrast. Also, I didn’t know the differences between the first, second and third rows?

3- You said in statistical analysis that you expressed the mean plus minus standard deviation not standard errors, while in page 19 you mentioned “mean plus minus standard errors in figure 5”. Please declare which is the right?

4- I strongly recommend you to delete repeating your results in the “discussion” section and go deeper in explaining, analyzing, and interpreting your findings in the light of mitochondrial dysfunction and link it to the inflammatory molecules in your study.

Wish you the best luck

Reviewer #2: The manuscript expresses the work which is technically sound and presented in an intelligible fashion. The data presented is sufficient in deriving the conclusion of the work and can be accepted in the present form.

Reviewer #3: The authors have studied the “Expression of SDF-1/CXCR4 and Related Inflammatory Factors in Sodium Fluoride-Treated Hepatocytes”. This research article is well-designed and interesting. The manuscript is suitable for publication but there are minor technical flaws which need to be addressed. Some of these concerns are mentioned below:

1- Why were just LX-2 astrocytes used in the study? Briefly explain it.

2- The manuscript does not include a reference to the cell culture methodology used.

3- The apparatus used for microscopy throughout the study is not mentioned.

4- The source from which the primers were chosen is unavailable. Give the source in manuscript.

5- There is a lack of referencing in the entire methodology. For the methods section, not a single reference is provided.

6- In photography, the scale is not indicated.

7- It is advised that a higher magnification image of HE staining of cells be included because there is no evident comparison with the images provided with the current file.

8- The outcome is repeated in the discussion section. It should be modified.

9- The significance of the current investigation is not clearly stated in the text. What is the relevance of the study? Describe it.

10- Is there any recent research on fluorosis with inflammation? If yes, explain why the current investigation is necessary.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Waleed Fathy Khalil

Reviewer #2: Yes: GV Narasimha Kumar

Reviewer #3: No

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Attachments

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Submitted filename: PONE-D-23-32257_reviewer Khalil.pdf

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Submitted filename: Comments.docx

Expression of SDF-1/CXCR4 and Related Inflammatory Factors in Sodium Fluoride-Treated Hepatocytes

PONE-D-23-32257R1

Dear Dr. Zhang,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Vara Prasad Saka

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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