Int J Mol Med 45: [Related article:] 1514-1524, 2020; DOI:
10.3892/ijmm.2020.4513
Following the publication of this paper, a concerned
reader drew to the Editor's attention that a pair of the
fluorescence microscopic images shown in Fig. 2A on p. 1518 were
strikingly similar to data which had already been accepted for
publication in the journal The Anatolian Journal of
Cardiology written by different authors, although the same
department and research institute were held in common. Upon
performing an independent analysis of the data in this paper in the
Editorial Office, it also came to light that flow cytometric data
in Fig. 2B had already been submitted for publication in another
paper to the journal Drug Design, Development and Therapy
that featured some of the same authors, although the experimental
conditions in the two papers were reported to be different.
Owing to the fact that the contentious flow
cytometric and fluorescence microscopic data in the above article
had apparently already been submitted for publication elsewhere,
the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine
has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal.
The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these
concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a satisfactory
reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any
inconvenience caused.
