Int J Mol Med 34: [Related article:] 451-463, 2014; DOI:
10.3892/ijmm.2014.1808
Following the publication of the above article, a
concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that certain of the
Smad4, VEGF and GAPDH protein bands featured in Figs. 3D, 5C and F,
8D and 10B appeared to be strikingly similar, suggesting that the
data featured in the affected figure parts had been erroneously
assembled. After having conducted an internal investigation of the
data in this paper in the Editorial Office, the findings of the
reader were found to be largely confirmed; in particular, it was
noted that the western blots featured in Figs. 5C, 5F and 10B were
strikingly similar, even though the orientation of the bands
differed in some of the gel slices, such that data which were
intended to show the results of differently performed experiments
had apparently all been derived from the same original source.
Given the large number of identifications of
overlapping and/or re-used western blot data in this paper, the
Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine has
determined that this paper should be retracted from the Journal 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 satisfactory
reply. The Editor sincerely apologizes to the readership for any
incovenience caused, and we thank the reader for drawing this
matter to our attention.
