Int J Mol Med 35: [Related article:] 653-663, 2015; DOI:
10.3892/ijmm.2014.2055
Following the publication of the above article, a
concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that there were a
number of apparent anomalies associated with the western blots
featured in Figs. 1C and E, 3A, C and E, 4A, C and E, 5B, 8A and C;
moreover, the images shown for the immunohistochemical experiments
in Fig. 8E contained groupings of cells that were markedly similar
in appearance, comparing across the eight separate figure
parts.
After having conducted an internal investigation of
the data in this paper, the Editor of International Journal of
Molecular Medicine has judged that the potentially anomalous
presentation of the western blotting data and the strikingly
similar groupings of cells in Fig. 8E were too extensive that these
features could have been attributed to pure coincidence. Therefore,
the Editor has decided that this article should be retracted from
the publication on the grounds of an overall lack of confidence in
the data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for
these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply.
The Editor sincerely apologizes to the readership for any
incovenience caused, and we thank the reader for bringing this
matter to our attention.
